It can be hard.

Really hard.

To resist the pressure.

To not want to be bigger and ‘better’.

To not jump on a plane and fly to Iceland because the landscape is amazing and the mist is calling.

To not wish for the most beautiful sunset in a flowy wheatfield with a picture-perfect Alberta sky.

To not be convinced that a big bright white home with texture, neutral furniture, and vaulted ceilings is the ideal.

Because for some reason, we’ve decided mist and rolling hills, white spaces and happy faces are what we should strive for.

Yes, it’s easy to get caught up in it. 

Sometimes I do sucked in. I scroll Instagram for one too many hours and start to think that I could be famous too if only I could have all the magic collide. For the sweeping landscapes and the glimmering light and the moodiness to all just crash into each other while I happened to be there with my camera. Then I’d have Instagram worthy images that would go viral.

But you see….then I force myself to snap back to why I do this and to get out of the trap.

Because what’s really important is not the collision of the magic around you. It’s the magic that you already are.

It’s the way you live, the relationships you have, and the connections you foster.

I remind myself that chasing the meaning of the scene is SO much more important than chasing the scene itself.

It’s the small touches, the way he looks at you when you don’t know it, the way she rubs her blanky against her cheek, the way his hand tucks into your shirt collar when he’s feeling shy, the way you will rock and shush your baby for as many hours as it takes…it’s the way you live life.

That’s what needs to be captured and that’s what you’re already perfect at.

Are the beautiful backdrops and ideal locations impressive? Yes.

Would it go viral? Maybe.

But what’s more impressive and unique, and more important, is the way you love each other, in the limited time you have, in the space that you call yours.

This is the love you fought for. The love you choose every single day. The real goods.

This is the love that I want you to be able to look back on over and over again.

This is the scene that is worthy of being visually documented.