The missing photograph

Well, it seems I have to come to terms with the fact that I no longer have that photograph I was looking for. I went through everything I have left, which isn't much, and I can't find it. I must have given it away in one of the boxes I dropped off at the Salvation Army. Pity. I would have wanted it to complete my set.

It's a little disappointing and a little annoying, but it's definitely not the end of the world. I can reconfigure the remaining photographs, or I can get something else for the wall I was going to hang them on.

It's funny but I expect that I'll remember that missing photograph for as long as I have the others. But if I got rid of them all, the memory would eventually fade away.

I guess it's similar to when we hold on to other things or feelings or relationships that just remind us of disappointments or missed opportunities or guilt or whatever other bad feeling. Letting go, even just the thought of it, can be scary. But once we finally do, those memories and bad feelings eventually fade away also. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Oh I know it's not always as simple as that. Sometimes the work of letting go takes much longer and is more involved than just eliminating the "source of pain" from our lives. And I'm sure in some situations, the memory never completely leaves us. But I guess it's a start...

Will I get rid of the other photographs? Nah! Not yet anyway. The joy the remaining ones bring me outweighs the disappointment of the missing one.

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