Take A Picture

Colloquial phrases are interesting. These regional ways of saying things can be endearing if the message is positive, or very alienating if the connotation is negative. Where I grew up, if a person stared too long at someone else, the intrusive viewer was often met with a curt, "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Hint, hint... Stop staring because its rude.

For a child, this is easier said than done. I don't think kids stare with the intention of being mean or creating awkward situations. Instead, many children are naturally curious and things they don't understand attract their attention. Not to gawk, but to process.

Especially, when they see someone who doesn't look like them…

The school at their lunch table with no lunch. The older gentleman with the crooked haircut and shabby army jacket. The lady wearing clothes from the thrift store. A hungry man holding a sign declaring his exasperation for the rest of the world to see.

Take a picture, it will last longer.

Only, it won't.

Back in the day, taking pictures meant carrying around a small, but clunky device that held film. Now, snapping a picture is second nature to anyone with a smartphone or tablet. Kodak has been replaced by Kardashian. Today, we live in a viral world where social media dictates and drives our habits and daily trajectories. The scenes we see are snapped, downloaded, posted, reposted, and liked in a matter of seconds. We have become experts at viewing life in a detached mode of bystanding. Taking pictures does not last as long as it used to because we probably delete 20 for every one we keep.

It's the pictures we internalize and hold captive in our minds that truly transform our lives. Those moments we see something that becomes inescapable because of the context. We don't just recall the homeless lady on the corner, but we can feel the wind whipping against our face. We remember we were hungry as we walked past her on our way to lunch. We empathize every time we close our eyes and resurrect the image. We don't gawk... We process.

But then what? These tangible memories are wasted unless we use them as motivation to help others move forward. If you are reading this blog, then you have some interest in helping eliminate homelessness in Kalispell and the surrounding areas. But what are you doing besides reading? How can we take and channel a desire to do right into a proactive way of living?

Maybe we should all take more pictures.