hey, chicka boom.

earlier this morning i was watching one of my favorite random IG accounts — a father who shares sweet moments with his daughter

i got hooked some time last year by her adorable little baby morning wake ups, yawning big + stretching teeny arms up + out as he released her from her swaddling

there was something super healing about witnessing this totally present love + adoration from father to daughter, and it’s been so interesting to see her get older —

to watch her become aware of the camera + her own image there

honestly, at times i’ve wondered about the longterm impact

for those of us who grew up WITHOUT a camera in our face all the time, it’s quite human to think that our way, the good ol’ days way, is the right way, the better way

it’s so simple to forget that progress IS evolution, and it can’t be had by sticking to how everything’s always been

as father + daughter shared time on the front stoop this morning before daughter went off to day care, i noticed her keep noticing the camera — and herself on it — in a very natural, unbothered, undramatic kind of way

then she would just as naturally shift attention to her father seated right next to her, the sippy cup he passed her, the birds they listened to together

it was all so very much not a big deal

and it got me thinking…

folks who frequently snap pics of themselves, their meals, whatever’s happening around them are often criticized, called names, and chastised to get present instead of worrying about recording the present

(that’s a POV i clearly don’t share, as some of my most cherished presence practices involve the phone on my camera)

i’ve spoken before about how taking selfies is healing for me, but today i thought about how powerful it might be for kids to grow up seeing themselves loved like this

i’m not saying that it always happens as beautifully as this, and i’m not saying they’ll never question ANYTHING

but one thing they WON’T question, as far as it seems to me, is whether or not they’re loved — never mind whether or not they’re WORTHY of love

they’ll have witnessed it in a million simple little moments reflected back to them on that camera, which will give them an indisputable kind of knowing, with neither fanfare nor fragility

these kids won’t need healing, they’ll already be whole

because it’s not the lens that makes us seek approval, or the existence of a platform on which to share what it captures

it’s a lack of knowing how very worthy we are, a hunger to prove it so, a wish to believe it (alongside a deep distrust of the same)

and there’s something about seeing yourself being loved so simply + unwaveringly, in the most un-notable of everyday circumstances, that feels like it’s just got to cement that knowing in a way most of us haven’t yet experienced

perhaps an unpopular opinion, but something to consider

xxoo, cc

ps: wanna peep the IG post in question? let me know + i’ll send it on over!

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