Hi friends. Welcome back to picture. Love. I am so happy you're here and I'll be honest. This episode really stretched me. This episode is dedicated to loving humans. Who have healing to do. And they know that some of that healing. Involves facing their pictures. I always talk about preserving what matters most in your photos, but what about the rest? Because sometimes there are things in our photos that really do need to be let go. And just leaving it in your cloud or leaving it in a folder or leaving it in a box doesn't mean you are free of it and that you've healed from it. These are three reasons why you may need to burn, delete, or discard photos that are no longer serving you So this is to all of the healing hearts who are listening. I love you. So here's the first reason. When you have too many extra shots of an occasion. That means maybe you're trying to get a cute picture of your pet. Or you're trying to get the ideal shot of that dolphin that just keeps popping up to the surface of the ocean and the dipping below, or that sunset or sunrise. Or an occasion where you have a sequence of photos and there's so many of them, you can't figure out which one, when you look back at them, has the people's eyes open or the expression on their face that you want. I know this can be emotionally difficult when we're talking about toddlers and babies, but if you'll just stick with me, In the moment we take pictures with an emotion and that emotion is, is valid. It usually comes from a place of love and appreciation and gratitude. But after the fact. If we don't purge the extras and just keep the one or a few of the very best, then we are stuck sifting through them to figure out which one we want to share or print or put on the Christmas card. And we become. Mm, collectors of clutter, or you could think of it in terms of hoarding. Hoarding images. If they're printed they collect dust. If they're not printed, they collect clutter. And quite honestly, that digital clutter multiplies like little bunnies in springtime because when they get backed up, then they're digital and multiple places. And we don't want to make clutter your present condition or your legacy. So when it comes to decluttering, We need to delete discard or burn it. The second reason we need to consider burning deleting discarding photos, is when it's hurtful to somebody else. Let's let's look at that. In my over 22 years of working with clients, pictures, I have seen my fair share of funeral displays in wakes, you know, The photo boards that people put up to display the memories of their lost loved ones. Some of the pictures are quite honestly, they're beautiful and they're stunning, but what happened to all the other ones that were fished through and discarded because they didn't make it on the display. If it's not display worthy. Then is it worth keeping? That's a thought. If it's something that, that loved one would just never want to see the light of day they don't want to be remembered as sick or angry or in pain, or injured, then those would be reasons to let them go. Because it's not helping the survivors to actually see the decline of their loved one. And I'm certain from my point of view, I would not want to be remembered that way as well. So if it's causing pain to somebody else, that would be a beautiful reason to burn it. Delete it, and discard it. And the third reason I would definitely delete a photo, is if it's hurtful to you. Now, not everybody is conscious of that. For the caregivers, for the picture takers for the family historians, we tend to take on roles of caring for other people. And putting their feelings above our own. And, you know, when in doubt save it, that kind of approach. But honestly, when it's out of sight, it's usually out of mind. And if you are the one who is housing, all these pictures and they are not. Helping you. They are not benefiting you and they are not something that you would like to be part of your legacy, then that's a really good reason to get rid of it. We get to curate the lives that we want to live in our photos, we get to decide what we keep. We get to decide what we discard. And I would love to think that all of us consider other people's feelings including our own. And if there are memories that are just too painful for you to hold on to, but you know, for a fact you have loved ones who would like to care for them. You can consider offering them to them and giving yourself the compassion of not having the burden of having those, because what they'll do is if you need to avoid them to protect your heart, too, if you find you have mental blocks where you can't go through your photos, because you're afraid to find them. That is something that's blocking your joy. Think of it like emotional constipation of sorts. By keeping those ghosts in your photo collection, it's kind of like. Flashing back to that scared little child who believes that there's a monster under the bed or in the closet. And, and we'd want to avoid it at all costs and suffer through the night and night. Get up to go to the bathroom if you have to, because there's fear of what you'll be faced with. And that can happen in our photos if we don't give ourselves the compassion to remove that possibility. People who are on a healing journey willing to face their photos have a very special opportunity to reparent themselves. By facing the photos and feeling the emotions, and deciding to give themselves compassion, talking literally to yourself to tell yourself. I'm doing okay, I'm doing fine. And now I'm ready to get rid of these photos so that they can no longer be an obstacle that get in the way of all the other beautiful memories that I deserve to live with and reflect on a reminisce with and bond with those that I love over. I get to have that back. Photos that don't bring joy that don't uplift that, do not enhance your sense of belonging, and loving and connection to your genealogy or stories that, are worth becoming part of your legacy because you decided to... those are things that can be, let go. I hope this resonates with you, and I'd be very curious to know if you have other reasons to delete it, discard it or burn it. Because this life is too short, too precious, too valuable to waste it on photo clutter that honestly getting the wayof you living fully in your whole self and your whole life experience. And I hope that these thoughts support you in choosing how you picture love better in your life.