Following the Path to Memories and Meaning
Journaling is often an unfolding path of curiosity that opens doors to memories and meaning-making.
If you’re like me you have hundreds of photos in boxes, albums, scrapbooks, SD cards, on your phone and computer. They get lost in the photo scrapyard. They lose their meaning.
Instead of being overwhelmed by thousands of photos, you can focus on a single photo or connected series, being curious to the details and the memories they evoke. That image can unravel threads of memory that you can weave into a tapestry of meaning and story.
Take this photo of me and my boys.
L-R: Stephen, Me, & Nick
It was definitely Halloween, 2001. Stephen was 4 and Nick was 6. I had just turned 35.
We’re next door at our neighbors’ house. Ed and Mary were like adopted grandparents. The boys nicknamed their adult daughter Sue–Soup, who probably took the photo.
Stephen loved dirt bikes, Nick was on a Zorro kick and into martial arts. I put together a pirate costume that included earrings I normally wore. We love dressing up. I wrap my arms around my boys pulling them close.
We’re excited to go trick or treating and our neighbors are the first stop.
Nick and I look at the camera, always ready with a smile. Stephen wants to get to the good stuff–candy.
If I keep unraveling, I could get curious about:
Other stories of my boys at our neighbors.
How when I was pregnant, my husband would find me relaxing in their pool.
How Mary always had pretzels for when the boys came over.
They’d come to every family event and invite everyone over to swim during the hot summers.
How sad I was when Mary and Ed passed.
How my husband and I have a similar relationship with our neighbors’ children with freeze pops always available!
I’d write about our dress-up box and how costumes would be added after Halloween and pulled out when friends came over. They’d dress up, act out their favorite characters, and immerse themselves in their imaginations. They could be anyone and anything they wished.
I’d marvel at the shenanigans of Mary and Ed. After all these years I just noticed the hand clawing out of the couch in the left corner.
Ohh! How that makes me smile!
What weaves this photo into a tapestry of meaning is LOVE. FUN. IMAGINATION. CONNECTIONS. MISCHIEVOUSNESS. How good my neighbors were to my children.
I feel happy remembering this moment and am so grateful I made memories with people I love.
Photo Threads
You can write as detailed as you want and it may differ from photo to photo. Let these prompts take you down your personal path of memory and meaning.
Who’s in the picture?
Where are you?
What are you doing?
Ages/dates/time of day?
Go for the small details then zoom out.
Add sensory details in addition to what’s seen.
Texture of clothing.
Food aromas/taste.
What do you hear?
What do you smell?
What’s around you?
What are the person/s holding?
Where are you in your life during this time?
How old were you in this picture or when the picture was taken?
What aren’t we seeing?
Who’s not in the picture/is taking the picture
Why does this moment stand out for you?
What emotions are connected to this picture?
How does it make you feel?
What memory threads/stories does it unravel?
What meaning do you make from this photo?