Memories...Giving Your Heart Immortality

Memory...is presence in absence; it is speech in silence;
it is the endless return of a past happiness to which the heart gives immortality.
Henri Lacordaire

by Skip Cohen

Since most of you are involved in photography, I don't need to add very much to the quote above. However, author Lou Mitchell added the following:

Memories have a unique power to bring the past into the present, allowing us to relive moments of joy and connection. Even in silence, memories speak to us, offering comfort and a sense of continuity. They remind us that the happiness we've experienced can live on in our hearts, providing strength and warmth even when those moments are physically gone.

Think about how every click of your camera has captured a memory. Now, take it one step further and think about family and friends you've lost over the years. Each old photograph brings with it a backstory, allowing you to relive those moments of happiness from the past.

I rarely miss posting on Throwback Thursday. It's not because it's such a popular topic, but because old photographs and their backstories take me down Memory Lane. As I've gotten older, I've lost more friends. It simply goes with aging...but my friends live on, thanks to the miraculous power of imaging. Photography is about magic, turning intangible moments into tangible memories that last a lifetime.

It's a new year with new memories to be made and captured. In a world that's completely upside down, we'll all be taking walks down Memory Lane. We can't escape our responsibility to do whatever we can to help get the world back on course, but those great memories from the past captured digitally, on film, or even on "neurochromes," are the energy supplements to help us hold focus on our values.

Wishing everybody a great day ahead and one that allows you time to cherish a short look back, while moving forward to create and capture more memories and have a life well-lived. Don't forget those eleven-second therapeutic hugs I always write about - the people on the other end of those hugs are there to help you be a gatekeeper of the memories you cherish the most!

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

Note: Just to make the point, I scrolled through past posts and grabbed a few memories of favorite people and times. Each photograph represents multiple backstories, and as I look back, with each one, the smile on my face gets bigger.