Life is Precious

Life is so Precious. It is a gift. It is beautiful. But life can change so fast and it can bring us challenges, hardships and pain.

This month, I have been reminded many times how precious this life is.  I have had the opportunity to photograph two women who are dealing with very difficult trials in their lives.  When we think of passing down photographs to our children, we think of “someday”.  We believe we have the time to gather these images.  We think we need to lose that weight first or that we are just so busy with school and work.  There is time – we are safe in the thought that we have our long life.  But life is so fragile and can change in an instant.

I am a student of Sue Bryce Education and recently she posted this video about a friend.  Take a minute to watch it.

If you have come back to read the rest of this post, I have a little more to say.  If you don’t, the video speaks so beautifully.

Please take pictures.

Please exist in photos.  Have photographs to pass to your children.  Take images of your children.  I hope to be able to write a little more about the women I mentioned earlier and send their messages.

But when I say please take pictures, I don’t mean on your phone.  How many of you have had your phones stolen, lost, damaged?  I don’t mean sitting in files on your computer either.   How many of you have had your computers crash?  Hard drives corrupt?  Lost images you once loved.   Print them out.  Exist in print.  Get albums, photo books, scrapbooks.  Go cheap or go quality but either way DO IT.

Live your life for your children.

We forget this part.  I know I do sometimes.  Hug them and tell them you love them.  Take time out of your busy schedule to make their futures better.  Plan for the day when you are gone.  Leave behind the memories and the love you have for them.

I hear so often “we just don’t print pictures out.”  We have huge amounts of photographs in our amazing era.  We have technology at our fingertips.  We can capture everything!  It is a beautiful time to live but I pray our children are not left with out-dated computers, corrupted hard drives, essentially huge “paperweights”, and fading memories of their parents, siblings, grandparents and loved ones.