In an Instagram, social media filled world, it isn’t hard to see the life you want to live displayed on someone else’s feed. But what does it really mean to be living an inspiring life? Does it really fill you with inspiration?
Does looking through your friend’s feeds inspire you? Does it make you filled with joy watching them grow and have amazing experiences? Or does it in some way diminish your life?
I will be honest, at my age, I love watching my friends and their children accomplish and grow and learn. I love seeing my friends’ kids get engaged, married and have their own children. It is great to see this.
But my friends also post when they need prayers. When they lose a parent, sibling, close friend or even God forbid, a child. As we get older, we post not only our highlight reels, but our real lives. Sure, there are more good than bad. But I truly hope this is true for their lives as a whole.
My feed is filled with people who are living their lives. It isn’t necessarily how I want to live mine, but it is great to see a big world filled with people doing things their own way.
If looking at social media or watching KUWTK makes you feel less than, then stop! It’s just that simple. Find something else which inspires you. Music. Books. Art. Fill your life, or your media feed, with things which inspire you.
I love photography. The days I take my camera out to “play” are some of my favorite days. I don’t necessarily need to be traveling, I just need to head out with it.
I love it, but honestly, I am not all that good at it. But the more time I spend with my camera, the more I discover what I could do next time. I can change the angle, move closer or even just get up earlier to get the shot.
Since I love photography, I follow people on Instagram that I love how they shoot. I love their styles. I don’t copy them, I just love seeing how they do things. One of the photographers I found is Peter McKinnon.
He has a 1.4 million people following him on Instagram and a larger following on YouTube with 2.9 million people. I don’t wish to be him and I am not jealous of his following. I just love how real he is with his photography.
He just posted a video on YouTube about his bucket shot. The video itself took 4 months to produce and he brought in other professionals to assist with it. It isn’t just the actual photo he produced at the end, that I found inspiring. It is how he describes how he will remember the shot.
For him, his favorite photos aren’t so much that it was a technically perfect photo, although it is. It is the process he took to get there. The people he was with when he shot it. The story behind the photo is as much a part of the photo as the physical photo itself.
Watch the video yourself to be inspired.
What I will say is I feel the same things about my favorite photos. My favorite photos aren’t perfect, because I just don’t have those skills. But the story they invoke in me are perfect. They are about family, travel, fun, laughter, music, life.
Make sure as you pursue your own bucket shot, or bucket list, that you are doing it for the experience of it. Not just to say you can cross something off your list.
That when you run your marathon this year, you high-five the people cheering, or encourage some of the other runners. That when you take that once in a life time trip, you meet people, eat new food really take in the whole experience.
Be inspired by the journey to achieve the goal and not just the goal. Because that is really what life really is, a journey.
I am off to hang out with my camera. The sun is finally out, which for a January day in Michigan, is its own blessing.
Dune Run
May you find something inspiring today.
Catherine