Picture Perfect

The pictures we choose to display speak to us louder than we might think. Images of the past that are shown in the home have presumably been selected because they represent important life events and relationships. But if photo arrangements are not regularly updated with newer images alongside the older ones, we can start thinking our best moments are behind us.

Pictures of children when they were younger not accompanied by more recent images can lead to offspring believing that they are being treated as if they were still kids. Wedding and honeymoon pictures that are not placed alongside more recent depictions of the happy couple might lead to that couple feeling less than happy in present time: any emotion around the difference between their imagined future at the time the photo was taken and their actual current reality will come to the surface in the relationship dynamic.

It is not a problem to feature images of friends or relatives that have passed on. Surround them with images of people they knew and those who they may never have met – this will help one’s entire family and community of friends feel more appropriately connected to the past and to the evolution of relationships and life itself.

Another note: don’t display family pictures in the bedroom. You don’t want your relatives watching you in bed, do you?