"Take the Photo" Weekly Wisdom

 

How many photos on your phone HAVEN'T made it to social media?

A "taking photos" conversation came up in my world recently with some sweet ladies. Some of the highlights:  

• We talked about why would anyone take photos if you're not going to share them on social media because isn't this the only reason people take photos?  
• If I don't take a photo they I don't have any way to show off to my friends.
• Photos of what I did is proof I do cool things. I have to have photos of cool things I do so I have something to talk about with my friends.  
• I feel like a loser if I don't have awesome things to share on my instagram. 

This made me sad because I truly believe this is what social media has done to our world. The "comparison game" is strong and so is the unrealistic views into peoples lives. Everything can look amazing from a few carefully crafted photos on social media but could be crumbling in the real world. If you have followed along, you know my distain for perfectly poised photos of recipes and food. It is very unrealistic for any of us to live up to the photos we see, we cannot photoshop our real lives in search of perfection. 

Around 99% of the photos on my phone never make it to social media. I use those photos to remind me of the private joys I have, the moments of happiness, the moments of grief, moments I have failed and want to remember so I do better next time, screen shots of conversations with humans I never want to forget and random memories of things with meaning for me. Don't get me wrong, I will share a few glimpses into my world, but the 99% that doesn't make it, that's my reality. 

#realization | #EmbraceTheHellYeah

~AE

"Save Yourself" Weekly Wisdom

Are you waiting for someone or something to save you?

My friend Ryan was at yoga a few weeks ago and his instructor shared this thought with him. When we were having lunch, he brought this up as we were talking about our lives, things we are going through right now and throwing down this great perspective was just what we needed. It brought us back to the reality that we are the only one in our lives who will make our life what we want it to be. 

No one is coming to save me. No one is coming to save you. 

If you want something, go get it. If you want to get rid of something, eliminate it. If you want things to change, you got to make those moves. If you are looking at your future, you will need to set those goals. The power you have to make a decision will change your life. The power you have to NOT make a decision will keep you stationary - just hoping someone comes along to make the decision for you. I will always choose the former, even thought it is the hardest -  it is always the best way to live for me. 

At the end of the day, all we ever need to do is just save ourselves. 

#realization | #EmbraceTheHellYeah

~AE

 

"Less Regrets" Weekly Wisdom

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What is one of your biggest regrets?

You are going to laugh, but when I was a teen, rugby shirts were the coolest. I remember wanting this specific one so bad.  The jewel toned blue, red and green blocked stripes, a white collar that could be popped appropriately with 3 white buttons perfectly placed and to top it all off, Coca Cola was written across the front. I distinctly remember laying in bed every night that following week feeling deep regret for not purchasing this beautiful piece of fashion. 

And then I aged a few minutes and the feeling of regret passed. 

I am sharing this story all in good fun to remind you to not live a life of regrets. There will be little (rugby shirt little), medium and big sized regrets. It is what you learn from them that helps you to have less of them. Regrets do not feel good and the bigger they are, the worse they feel and linger in your life. I have regrets lingering in my life. Some of them make me cry so hard I give myself a headache. I wish so badly I could change all the series of events leading to those regrets but I cannot. Did I learn from them?  Absolutely yes. Will I do better, hell yes. 

To regret less, I keep this little quote above at the forefront of my mind to do what I need to do to make the right choices for me. To take the leap, to say I love you, to hug someone, to speak more kindly, to take the trip, to smell the flowers, to make the call, to buy the weird shirt that will go out of style but will make me happy. 

Less regrets, more baguettes. 

#realization | #EmbraceTheHellYeah

~AE