They're just old photographs hanging on the wall. I see those faces everyday. They look down on me and it sometimes causes me consternation. Many of them I never knew, yet we are connected. They are mostly before, while I'm after. After is supposed to be better isn't it ? I wonder if I measure up ? I admit I feel lacking. Have I taken the easy road ? Truth is the road was paved for me by those ancestors, the work was done. It is up to me to further pave the way. What have I done for those after me ? Is that dependent upon material things ? Is that the measure of a legacy ? No, it isn't but just the easiest to identify and display. I feel like we may be losing our way. The way is too easy, and we are dependent. We expect everything to be provided for us. But what of those faces in the pictures ? Did they feel the same way ? Did they contemplate the future as well ? I'm certain that they must have. I'm equally as certain they felt much the same way as I do today. The soul of man doesn't really change over time. It is my feeling that our souls are shared after our passing. That is the eternal life we are promised. If God is the light then God is energy. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed. Keeping in mind there is both positive and negative energies. Each is essential to the flow on that energy. But that is a theological discussion for another day.
I see those faces from the past and think about what they may have hoped and dreamed. Oh, I knew a few of them, the tales that they told of their youth. There is only one that I know intimately and that is myself. I have a picture of myself from years past and do remember. I remember what I thought and felt at that time. It is a source of private amusement. And in that realization I know it surely is that way for us all. Looking into the eyes of those in the pictures I try to hear their voices. For surely we speak through our eyes, but only for the moment. Those pictures capture that moment. What are they saying ? In the formal pictures, the ones posed, I mostly see pride. In the others, the candid shots , I can see many moods. Some are happy, some show a deep sorrow and still others a resignation. That is what I see anyway. It is those that make me question.
It is true that one day I will be a picture on a wall, hopefully anyway. I will be a memory for a while, then an ancestor. One day I will be just a face from the past. We have the ability to record our voices and create video presentations, the modern version of home movies. How many movies are hanging on a wall ? Rarely do you see that. I do believe photographs will always be displayed. Some pictures hold but a flicker of light from a day gone by, while others may light the way. Sentiment and inspiration both reside within them. Ever since man first drew on the wall of a cave somewhere, it has been so. A record of something important. Each moment is important as without them there wouldn't be another.
I see those faces from the past and think about what they may have hoped and dreamed. Oh, I knew a few of them, the tales that they told of their youth. There is only one that I know intimately and that is myself. I have a picture of myself from years past and do remember. I remember what I thought and felt at that time. It is a source of private amusement. And in that realization I know it surely is that way for us all. Looking into the eyes of those in the pictures I try to hear their voices. For surely we speak through our eyes, but only for the moment. Those pictures capture that moment. What are they saying ? In the formal pictures, the ones posed, I mostly see pride. In the others, the candid shots , I can see many moods. Some are happy, some show a deep sorrow and still others a resignation. That is what I see anyway. It is those that make me question.
It is true that one day I will be a picture on a wall, hopefully anyway. I will be a memory for a while, then an ancestor. One day I will be just a face from the past. We have the ability to record our voices and create video presentations, the modern version of home movies. How many movies are hanging on a wall ? Rarely do you see that. I do believe photographs will always be displayed. Some pictures hold but a flicker of light from a day gone by, while others may light the way. Sentiment and inspiration both reside within them. Ever since man first drew on the wall of a cave somewhere, it has been so. A record of something important. Each moment is important as without them there wouldn't be another.
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