Recently, my cousin sent me this picture. I love it. It’s of me, and my two cousins (brother and sister) when we were around 4, 5 and 6, I think. It is one of my favorites and the timing reminds me of one of the best learnings I have come to this past year – learning to laugh at myself.
I am going to send it to the website Awkward Family Photos www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com. I love to look at the pics on the site. I think it shows us that all families have good intentions, and still, they can go terribly wrong. And I laugh out loud.
Such is also one of the lessons I hope to take into this New Year. I don’t always “do family” as well as I’d like. It’s complicated and managing it all can sometimes be challenging for me. With a lot of hard work, I’ve come to realize that we all “picture” our families, and lives, in a certain way. The picture is made up of moments – “snapshots in time”. The moments stick with us and we can choose to metaphorically caption them any way we want. We can also change the caption. I had several “captions” for this photo in my mind. My cousin had a different one. I loved hearing his. It opened me up to possibilities outside of my limited, and sometimes hard on myself, observations.
Maybe that’s what makes sites like Facebook and Instagram so appealing (and appalling). We have an opportunity to put out the best picture/caption possible and to believe in it.
So, I have put this old, dear picture where I can see it and like the little girl on the right, I vow to raise my hand more often and say, “Stop”! Stop and consider other perspectives. Stop and lighten up. Stop and be grateful for the friends and family who laugh with me. Stop and love ALL this moment has to offer. After all, it’s only a moment. And moments are all we have.
Do you have a picture that MindFULLY makes you laugh at yourself ?
Let us know!
themindfullcreative.com 
I must show this to your Dad.