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RECALLING HAPPY MEMORIES FROM THE PAST GIVES A BOOST TO HAPPINESS IN THE PRESENT.
What’s one of the easiest ways to recall happy memories? Through photos, of course. This is why Gretchen Rubin says in her book Happier at Home she’s a “big believer in the importance of family photos.” I recently read Rubin’s follow-up to her wildly successful The Happiness Project and loved many of her practical ideas to be intentional in your own home.
Rubin breaks down her project by focusing on a different aspect of life in her home each moth. In September, she tackled possessions. I found this chapter particularly interesting because Rubin acknowledges that most happiness “experts” approach materialism with the need to simplify. Instead, Rubin suggests that it’s the engagement with our stuff that affects us, both in use and response. This doesn’t mean most Americans don’t have too many possessions – they do – but how can we hone our stuff down to the meaningful and useful, and how can we display meaningful possessions in ways that increase our happiness in our own homes? Here comes into play Rubin’s “shrine” philosophy – transforming areas of her home into places of super-engagement. And most importantly, now, is when she creates a “shrine to family” through a gallery of family photos.
HAPPY FAMILIES TEND TO DISPLAY LARGE NUMBERS OF PHOTOGRAPHS IN THEIR HOMES.
As a photographer, I love this, yes, but also as a storyteller. She writes about hiring a professional photographer to capture their family. “It was expensive, but because family photographs are among my most precious possessions, this splurge gave me great bang for the happiness buck.”
She goes on to say that while high-quality heirloom photos are wonderful, the everyday images are just as important. All photos have the ability to prompt our memories and remind of many more details than are even visible in the image. This is why I write in my website bio how much I love not just photography, but the art of documenting a moment in time or a stage of life. When I see photos around my home, I’m reminded to celebrate those days and those relationships. And yes, ultimately, I’m happier at home surrounded by the memories I hold dear.
Next week, I’ll share a quick, fun way to display photographs in your home.
