Don't Let an Upside-Down World Change Your Dreams

by Skip Cohen

​Remember, Sunday Morning Reflections is my time to recharge and share whatever's on my mind, and today I'm a mess.

I usually start thinking about a topic when I wake up. It was around 5:30 AM, and Sheila was still asleep. I was thinking about writing about how so many of us set new goals, and make a New Year's resolution or two. It seemed a perfect topic, considering this is the first Reflections post of the new year. But the more I thought, the more the state of the world kept interrupting my thought process.

I don't want this to become a rant, but when does Congress wake up and grow a set? We're now at war with Venezuela...and I don't believe it has anything whatsoever to do with the war on drugs. And we're going to run this South American country??? Hell, the government can't run our own country right now!

This is about oil, and a president who believes he can do anything he wants. And it doesn't matter what side of the fight you're on, Trump lies...Portland isn't on fire...they're not eating dogs and cats in Ohio, gas isn't at $1.99 and never was...food costs are skyrocketing...he's "not falling asleep in meetings" as he blamed the stories on photographers who caught him blinking when they clicked the shutter (except he was caught on  videos.)...and for ten years the incredible health plan for America he's promised doesn't exist. Speaking of health plans...all the childhood diseases that disappeared when I was a kid are all on their way back, including measles!

Sheila has a great expression she regularly uses, "Thank God we're old and won't have to deal with this that much longer!" I painfully laugh each time she says it, usually after watching the news. But even knowing that she's right doesn't change my passion for this industry. 

In a world that's upside down, imaging and capturing those memories with the people you love has become even more important. And building a business model around the high points in life and the things we can control is an incredible opportunity to help change the world, one little community at a time.

I've quoted Lou Mitchell a lot lately...in his book for January 2 was this quote: ​

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
C. S. Lewis

Here's my point: the world is insane, but nobody can take away our goals and dreams. I'm not suggesting it's easy to ignore the outside world. However, there's a quote by an unknown author I've used numerous times in my posts about Alzheimer's..."There is one thing Alzheimer's cannot take away, and that is love. Love is not a memory - it's a feeling that resides in your heart and soul."

Well, I'm looking at the current government much the same way... they've forgotten about "We the People," but they can't take away the love we have for family, friends, and, yes, career paths, all of which are in our hearts and souls. I know it's sappy, but you're the magicians of the world, capturing intangible moments in everyone's life and turning them into tangible photographs and videos to last a lifetime. Imaging can stop time, capture memories, and help everyone remember what their top priorities in life really are.

You know how to hold focus with a camera in your hands...now it's time to use that same skill to help people remember what's most important in their lives!

Wishing everybody a day ahead when you can shut out the noise of the outside world and appreciate everything you have that makes you smile. Whether it's family, good friends, or pets - they all deserve those eleven-second hugs I always write about. And as nuts as the world around us is, we'd be lost without them.

Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world.