I'm a very visual person, so photos serve as my door to memory. When I look at old photo albums, I almost relive the occasion. I remember how I felt when I took the photo. I remember the person or people as they were at that particular moment. I remember buying the clothes we're wearing and whether it was hot that day, and what had happened before the photo was taken, and what came afterward. I like to joke that like a computer, I have Random Access Memory, but mine is really, really random. Photos help me organize that randomness.
But the best part of remembering with photos? They usually show the best moments in life, not the worst. And that's what we sometimes need to do:to remember the best, not just of our life experiences, but the best of ourselves, the "better angels of our natures" as Lincoln said. When life drags us down, and our minds are stuck in that coulda-shoulda rut of self-doubt, it's good to remember our successes, our triumphs, our moments of happiness. We can remind ourselves that the road won't always be rough and that we can and will survive the dark times. We can reassure ourselves that there will be new smiles and bright moments ahead of us.
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