Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Snapshots in time


Google a name, any name and click on images. Chances are you will see a multitude of pictures. Some pictures may have smiling faces in front of exciting locales and you might feel envy at the exciting lives these people lead. Other pictures might show something sad or catch a person at a bad angle. Seeing those pictures you might feel pity or even cringe away from the unfortunate shot. I’ll admit that has happened to me before, both types.

It hit me today, however, when looking at someone’s smiling face in the sun, laughing with his friends, that this is no more a reflection of that person’s true life than the picture that makes you think “eewww.” It is a snapshot in time, and that is all. The picture shows how that person’s life is in the instant it was taken. What we don’t see is the after effects, the “friends” pushing him into the water and laughing at him, the smiling child that doesn’t care about the blemish on mommy’s face that runs into her arms. Pictures say what we want them to say, those that speak of things we’d rather not face are generally not posted for public viewing.

I was looking at some old pictures earlier, pictures taken 6 years ago. The pictures showed a lot of smiling happy people, but they didn’t show the drama that was just around the corner. The pictures showed a very heavy, young woman surrounded by friends and family, but they didn’t show the beauty inside her or the doubt she kept buried deep. The pictures were only a snap shot of that instant moment, they weren’t the truth or reality.

My point to all of this? I’m just trying to remind myself that what we see isn’t always what is real. I wrote earlier about the skinny women looking down at me while working out at the gym. I wonder, sometimes, what might be the reality behind those confident looks. Could it be that the person who appears to act the most confident is actually the most insecure of us all?