Dear Friends,
This week we would like to highlight four photos that come with beautiful stories:
When I look at this ornament, I remember those few hot summer days in Paris and how happy I was when I flew by plane for the first time. That was the moment when I realized that I want more from my life and that my greatest ideal is to visit new and far places. Every day I pass by, this object gives me the hope that one day I will fulfill my dreams and that I will live a happy life.
Whenever I look at this book, I remember the amount of fun I had while reading it and how emotionally attached I was to the characters, despite knowing they are not real. I think it’s awe-inspiring how authors manage to transport you to foreign lands, by simply using words. While reading this novel, I felt understood and validated, since some of the main themes revolved around the importance of literature and the nature of books.
Mr. Buns or Dn-ul Iepu (as I like to call this distinguished little gentleman), has been a really special someone in my life, who brings my heart at peace just with his quiet presence; I guess it’s just the soft sparkle in his little pearly black eyes that brings confort and warmth into my soul. He’s extremely intriguing and elegant for an Easter Bunny, but that probably comes from his simple all-white look, which goes really well with his yellow bow, but one of my favourite features of his are his giant ears that I love to touch when I need to relieve some of my stress and anxiety. We’ve been inseparable ever since I found him again in my old bag of toys that my mom put under my bed a few years ago, and I never thought such a small thing could mean so much to me as a young adult and I don’t think I will ever get rid of him.
“A simple notebook, it doesn't make sense," that's what everyone would say. But this is not true. I received it from my best friend on my birthday. In this notebook, among these pages, on these lines are all my feelings, my memories, all my life. When I read it, I look into the past, as if I could travel back in time. I look at the little girl who went through different experiences, who felt anxiety, or peace, fear and sadness, or joy. But then I go back to the present, reading between the lines and the memories with my best friend and I realize how lucky I am to have a person who can show me everything I can't see, who can give me hope when I lose it, who can make me smile as I go back to a painful past and who can show me every day that sometimes it's too little to call a person "your best friend".
Each of these photos/stories were prompted by the December ask to take a photo of an object that is meaningful to you and to explain its significance. These photos are great examples of what we were looking for, however you don’t need a prompt to include a story about a particular photo— what it is, why you photographed it, why it means something to you. Stories make the image all the more interesting and helps to connect with more people and at a deeper level. It is especially true when you have a set of images; for instance, six is a great number of images with which to tell a story.
We would love to have more of your photographic stories for us to highlight as we did in the Echoes of New York project. Please send them to us.
Also, it is so interesting to see our stories and experiences through other peoples’ eyes. Our stories say a lot about us and our interpretation of the world. Other people may see the story quite differently: a kinder interpretation or maybe a less optimistic interpretation. Our stories are not set in stone— they can be reframed in relation to other experiences and this can help our mental health. Additionally, we can detach from the stories and experiences that hurt us, and can shift our gaze to experiencing new delights allowing our wellbeing to flourish. If you are interested in learning more about how to look back and reflect upon your experiences in this manner, check out “The Zen of Therapy” by Mark Epstein.
Sincerely,
The SeeingHappy Team
