“A second grader drew a picture of me today. I think it was me. It may have been a potato.” – Andi @smiles_and_nods, Twitter
This tweet brought a smile to my face. When our children were little, their preschool did a cruel activity every year where they would tell the children to draw portraits of their parents. We parents would then have to come into the classroom and find our own portraits, which were pasted all over the walls, for all to see. It was an excruciatingly difficult exercise. Most of the pictures appeared to be Picasso style. Our redheaded friend had a leg up. He would always just look for the only orange-haired, Ronald McDonald looking picture of a figure in guy clothes, and I think that he got it right, on the first try, 98 percent of the time.
I honestly hate having any kind of picture taken of me. I avoid pictures as much as I can. I’ve never felt like a natural in front of a camera. I am envious of today’s young ladies’ seemingly innate abilities to strike perfect poses, at the drop of a hat. I think this might be because they are so used to having their pictures taken. Since they were little, their parents have been pointing their phone cameras at them, a million times a day. Having their picture taken is as natural to them as blinking their eyes.
I know that they say that a picture paints a thousand words, but I’ve always been a word girl. If there is a video, I’m always looking for the transcript to the video. I read fast. I like to get to the point of things. I love words. I have always been able to express myself most easily in written form. I wish I felt that way about being photographed and videoed.
I read an article recently that said to get the best pictures of yourself, think of the people you most deeply love while having your picture taken. The article said that grandparents always look best in pictures where they are snuggling their grandchildren. Maybe when you are engulfed in feelings of love, you feel the least critical and judgmental about yourself and others, and that natural state of resting in love, gleams through the camera.
Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.