Remember Where You're Rooted: Looking Back at the Pictures
During my flight to Distilled, the WiFi was down and my laptop battery was shot. Distilled is all about helping leaders clarify their purpose, lead with purpose and to be healthy enough as a leader to leave the legacy they dream of leaving. To be healthy, we need to rest. So, it might have been fitting that the WiFi was down on every flight.
With no books in tow, I ended up deciding to clean up my phone. We have 4 kids who randomly snag my phone and take 82 million pictures of any one thing in sight during that moment. I started scrolling through photos, selecting and deleting unwanted or unneeded photos. (What a concept – scrolling our own photos instead of random photos on social media …) In the meantime, though, I started reminiscing.
It’s incredible to look back and see pictures of Ezra holding Alice when she was an infant ... both of them smiling and laughing. Last night at the house, they were pretending not to like each other by constantly arguing. I saw pictures of Titus and his buddies from elementary school smiling and laughing with complete innocence totally unaware about the challenges of life they have now faced. I saw Elliott smiling big while enjoying hiking in the Grand Tetons. I saw all the trips of Meg and I over the years and remembered some amazing times.
I also saw pictures that reminded me of some of the most challenging years during the past decade. I saw memories of people who were friends in our past, memories of friends who helped Meg and I navigate life, memories of foster kids in our home who had seen more pain than most of us could ever imagine.
Looking back has it’s rewards and looking back can bring up memories that remind us of how far we’ve come.
Just last night Meg was teasing me about how I love pictures with our family and not just pictures of sunsets and beaches. Looking back is not about seeing what I’ve seen all over again; it’s about seeing where I’ve been with the people in my life.
Does any of this matter?
Yes – Action Step #1: Next time on the airplane scroll through your personal photos.
Also – Remember where you are "rooted" and remember what legacy you want to leave. Looking back helps me remember what’s most important. Yes, I had some incredible food pictures, but … who cares? Yes, I had some incredible pictures of plane wings and clouds, but Crystal Bridges isn’t calling for them…
The pictures that were most important were: the pictures of my wife and I celebrating an anniversary ... or pictures of cheering our boys on from the sidelines ... or the pictures of our kids enjoying life together and building strong family bonds ... or the pictures of awesome times with great friends we are doing life with ... or the pictures of Meg singing in church or teaching ... or the pictures of the boys scoring goals ... or the pictures of Ryan and I birding to our next client meeting ... or the pictures of amazing clients we get to serve.
The pictures help me remember where I’m rooted. The pictures help me remember what’s most important. Hopefully, If I remember what’s most important, my life can align accordingly. Hopefully, I take the time to stay healthy emotionally, physically, spiritually, and relationally, in order to leave a legacy worth remembering ... a legacy that is formed from where I’m rooted.
