Pictures vs Reality

                             


Have you ever looked at someone’s post on social media and longed for something you think they have? This is a topic I have pondered much recently, especially during our recent vacation to Florida. My husband and I were celebrating our Anniversary at Navarre Beach in sunny Florida. Our vacation wasn't quite as wonderful as the pictures suggest. The beautiful, serene pictures make one think that we had a vacation of our dreams, when in actuality it was not what we had been dreaming of at all. The weather was some of the most severe we’ve ever experienced in Florida with high winds and freeze warnings, plus, we took turns getting sick.

 It's so easy for people to post something that looks so ideal and you have no idea what is behind the photo. Maybe a mom with her cute baby that took a half hour to set up the shot or “besties” (but really not) having coffee at the new café downtown. The pictures look perfect, inviting, peaceful, serene, and fun. But are they? Is our poised self our genuine self or is it what we want people to see of us? 

Did we still have a good vacation? Absolutely! We had time off to relax, read, and play a few games and when the sun peeked out we rushed outside. The point is, a picture really is worth a thousand words and sometimes we have to look beyond the façade of the picture to see what it is really speaking.
We need to guard our hearts against the message that social media is pushing; that perfection, beauty, and wealth are the norm and if we don’t have those things then we are unworthy/less than.

We each need to make the most of what we have been given, embrace our imperfect lives, and be confidently content and authentic in our own reality.