There are basic needs in life. One of which is water. Although, for most of us water is nothing special. There is nothing grand about it. We run our taps and it’s there. If you’re fortunate to live in England it falls from the sky most days. However, this isn’t the case for all individuals. Water can be so much more. Next time it rains, don’t complain. Just enjoy the moment and remember that actually it isn’t all bad. Childhood and water, what could be more beautiful?
I was scrolling through Twitter this evening and amongst the tweets about how they they are feeling, how stressful people’s lives are and how expensive make up is, I stumbled across this. A picture drawn by a child that really shows how hard, difficult and cruel life can be.
I feel this picture needs no explain other than it is born by a child. Not from her imagination but from her memories of what happened to her entire family. Life is cruel. There is no reason that anyone should face such situations but children? Really? What a sick world we live in.
In the western world we complain. I can’t deny the fact I’m guilty of moaning about minor inconveniences like my train being delayed or Tesco running out of my favourite sandwich but why don’t we stop and think? I urge you to tackle each day without whingeing. We really have nothing to complain about. Life really isn’t that bad for us.
When thinking back to my childhood or even my early adolescents I never even really knew about the world. I had no idea that there was such hatred and unkindness in the world. But, there are children in the world who are not as fortunate. What the children of the third world face on a daily basis is not ok. We can’t ignore it any longer. Something must be done.
Drawing from @BBCr4today on Twitter
I’ve always been interested in photography but have a slight love/hate relationship with it.
On one hand I feel that capturing moments via photograph is wonderful as you’ll forever have that picture to remember that moment by.
However, why do we really need the photo? Surely just living in the moment is the best way to remember it. You remember how you felt rather than looking back at a photo posted on Facebook.
But, what happens if our memories become distorted or a major brain trauma leads to retrograde amnesia or anterograde amnesia? What if you were so overwhelmed by the emotions you were feeling at that exact moment that the only way you can possibly remember it is through a picture?
Take the picture above for example, it shows an army woman returning home, she sees her daughter for the first time in many months perhaps even years. To me, taking a picture at this moment was the right choice as it shows nothing but love, compassion and happiness. The family will treasure this photo forever and will be able to look back and remember this moment of pure bliss.
Although, not all children are as lucky. Not all children have families to go back to. Not all children have hope and something to look forward to. For some, there is no happiness in their futures.
As I’m sure you are aware there is disaster in the world. The world in which we live is full of good yet we tend to focus on the bad.
Photographs can be used to show this. Whilst we in the Western world live in relatively good conditions, it’s often hard for us to imagine what life is like for others who are less fortunate than ourselves. This picture above captures the struggles some children have to go through on a daily basis. Pure and utter poverty. Its a hard picture to look at but I feel that it is important for us to realise that bad things are happening and that there are people out there struggling to survive.
So, my advice to you is yes, sometimes moments needed to be captured by camera but other moments are best left to enjoy with your eyes.
everythingchild 