Life Comes Swiftly

Farris Buellar is right!  “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Have you every had a moment after a major event, such as a wedding, a holiday (Christmas), a birthday or any event in your life that you feel went by SOOOO quickly? Or couldn’t really remember it?

You were left feeling a little sad? I do! I have had many of those instances in my life that have left me feeling so sad almost disapointed! Am I being too hard on myself? Were my expectations too high? Am I just a crazy woman? The answer is NO!

I read an article by Katherine Williams; that discussed this topic and laid out some really good info about The Happiest Time OUR Lives, or Not …


Perhaps this is really a very very normal “thing” to occur! “Many people experience this sense of letdown after something they’ve looked forward to for a while, whether it’s a holiday, a wedding, a birth, a graduation, a marathon, or a vacation.  Licensed psychologist Elaine Ducharme explains that it’s absolutely normal and even healthy. If you don’t have highs, you don’t have lows; it’s a normal way of life. We need to learn to cope with that. Why are supposedly joyous events and experiences followed by a big crash? We let ourselves fantasize about everything being perfect.”

 WHY, do we do this? Thankfully I am learning to LET GO of thinking everything will or could go entirely to plan. NOTHING IN LIFE WILL BE 100% PERFECT! Trust me…this concept is a very big learning process for me.

I have looked back over the course of this year and there been some of those highs and yes some of those low moments. Like Katherine explained… It’s a normal way of life. One thing I am trying to do this coming year (2014) is truly taking the HANDSFREEMAMA’S challenge and really be HANDS FREE! I mean REALLY CAPTURE THOSE SPECIAL MOMENTS, but enjoying them fully (as in, finishing the entire activity or trip or whatever) before POSTING THEM to any social media site.

I think that the idea of this can really help myself and any of you out there who really want to not MISS those special moments and have any LET DOWNS following the event because we were FULLY PRESENT! We really all can “MEND” our expectations and really enjoy each event good or bad, and we really can “TREASURE” them by physically being there and mentally capturing the memory (OR TAKE PICTURES) to ooo-and-awe over later.

I don’t think we will ever entirly free ourselves from some let downs that will occasionally occur, but we can strive to improve the frequency of them and lift ourselves up after they occur. This may involve something as simple as STAYING BUSY. Having dinner with friends or family, a massage, or reading a book. You may have more time on your hands or can make time for hobbies and new skills you’ve learned or want to learn; put those to good use, especially for people who may have contributed to your special day or event. THANK YOU NOTES AND EXPRESSING GRATITUDE REALLY HELP!

Rather than sulking about the fact that it’s over, remember how it happened. EVEN THOUGH THE EVENT IS OVER, doesn’t mean we have to start talking about the positives aspects of it. So revel in the memories! Get out the photo album, your iphone, or camera with your honey, family and friends and really see the happiness that shine through your photos. (SERIOUSLY, EVEN THOSE PHOTOS WHERE YOU FAKED IT UNTILL YOU MADE IT KIND OF DAY, REALLY WILL RADIATE HAPPINESS IN SOME WAY). Value the memories as much as the event itself. REMEMBER!!! Some events are really meant solely as a rite of passage. They need to happen FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO START!

LIFE WILL NOT END if that special event didn’t happen the way you imagined it going or better yet FEELING!!!! Trust me. Life does go on. We need to move forward to embrace other wonderful and beautiful events that will come along your personal journey here on earth.

I am grateful to have had some tool to capture those special moments in my life.  I am also learning to be grateful to capture some of those days that seemed hard or did not goes as planned also. Remember, it’s a way of life to have some highs and some of those lows. CAPTURE EVERYTHING.

ONE THING I HAVE LOVED THIS YEAR; was my family getting family photos taken by an amazing photographer. Take the time to get those family photos each year. Now I know sometimes the cash flow is tight and sometimes photographers’ prices are not in your range. TAKE SOMETHING! Even if it’s a snap shot from your phone or personal cameras. You will cherish those as time goes on. However, take the time to be present. GO THE ENTIRE activity before “posting” to any social media site. Wait until you are home, relaxing, actually having the down time to waste to edit and post. I really think we can become a happier more fulfilled people and community.

Brandon Burk Photography 

I hope you will enjoy some of the photos I captured this year in the video below!

 I loved going through and making a small video from FLIPGRAM to re-capture some of OUR memories of 2013. I can’t wait to see what 2014 brings. I hope you will take the time to MEND from let downs and expectations and fully be PRESENT at each of your upcoming events.

RECAP OF WAYS TO UPLIFT YOURSELVES AFTER A SMALL EVENT LET DOWN

1.    Stay busy

2.   Go to dinner with friends or family members

3.   Get a massage or read a good book

4.   Start a new hobby or make time for an old one

5.   PUT IT TO USE

6.   SHOW GRATITUDE. NOTES OR LETTERS OF THANKS to those who helped with the event.

Thank you for reading xoxo Jamie B.