“Everyone has a story to tell. But everyone uses different mediums of narrating their stories. Some use words, some paints, some celluloid, and others photographs. The Uncommon Box has carefully selected seven different visuals and woven them into different chapters of the photo story called Life.”
But why only 7 ?
Seven are the colours of the rainbow, seven are the notes of the Sargam or melody – and in our seven photo stories, and Life is played out in seven nuances, in seven shades, in seven moods and even seven stages.
Life is a story and we have compiled our chapters using these photo stories.
Life Chapter #1 – Not everything done, can be undone.
“When we are younger, Life writes its mistakes with a pencil, which can be easily erased. But the older we get, we realize that not all mistakes are erasable.”
There are times we want to return to the age of innocence, when a simple eraser could remove a wrong word or a harsh memory. @_harsh_the_storyteller wishes he were a pencil- possessing the capacity to re-write the mistakes of his life, much like his childhood days, where he could do so. Becoming an adult has its pitfalls- we can never undo what has been done.
Life Chapter #2 – Your legacy lies in the hearts of people not in impressive deeds.
When we are alive, we often chase mirages and impossible dreams, or ambitions ruthlessly, forgetting that we will live on in the simple memories we create. These could be everyday memories, or of ways we have touched the lives of others.
@mjzkhan says ‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.’
How true are these words! The legacy of a life is measured in the memories left behind of tender hours and fragile moments.
Life Chapter #3 – We often find the Divine in the Human.
Humans have created the Divine in their own human moulds. So there are goddesses who rule the heavens who are also mothers, while there are powerful gods who are sons of these celestial mothers. @love_thy_camera reminisces his childhood days, especially of his memories of the Durga Puja celebrations, a much awaited holiday in every Bengali household. The little boy, like many others, had come to associate with the Mother Goddess with his flesh-and-blood mother. Such simplicity in these bonds, and yet such depth.
What is there in these earthly bonds that make them so universal and easily transferable to divine beings as well? Or is it that we find our gods and goddesses more human and therefore, more believable?
Life Chapter #4 – Freedom means letting go and living in the Now.
What could be a louder assertion of independence than the refusal of the human spirit to bow down before anything that drowns the spirit in despair!!! Freedom does not mean doing what you like- it means letting go of the chains of hopelessness, cynicism, anxiety that let you down. As @roohdaar writes
‘I surrender my sadness, tears, failures, pains, scars and regrets to this moment, so that I may live in this moment freely and abundantly. I will not let the sadness of tomorrow take away my happiness of today. To enjoy this moment to the fullest we must live in the present and do it with full passion and love.’
Life Chapter #5 – There is a difference between being lonely and being alone.
Have you ever felt lonely in a room full of people? Have you ever felt lonely in a crowded place full of happiness and vitality? What is this haunting loneliness that accompanies our existence today?
The isolation and loneliness of modern living takes its toll on everything human, as captured in this visual by @bhanerjee. Life itself seems a barren, parched desert- is there no oasis in sight
‘Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them’- Jodi Picoult.
Life Chapter #6 – New beginnings in Life are all about looking at it through a new window or perspective.
A bride on the threshold of a new life and a window- the symbolism of this photo by @urja82 cannot be ignored. When we are faced with a new opportunity in life, what we are receiving inadvertently is a chance to look at the situation through a new perspective- with renewed hope and positivity. New beginnings mean a new way of looking at Life!
Life Chapter #7 – We lose much in Life as we gain in years.
Somewhere along the years, as we grow up, we lose much in Life. We replace simplicity with complexity, optimism with cynicism, or the joy of playing with balloons with the artificial world of gadgets. The balloon seller, captured by @mohammedabdulnoor is representative of the lost childhood, of the nostalgic days.
So what did we gain besides years, in Life?
These 7 photo stories selected by The Uncommon Box capture the different moods of Life. Life is not all black or white. That is what makes it so interesting. Each of these photos carry a tale behind them and we hope you have enjoyed ‘reading’ these photo stories.
Do leave feedback on this new sub-section added to the website!
Do you wish to share your photo stories on our forum?
Write into us at theuncommonbox@gmail.com or use the Submit your story option on the website.
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