Images of the Mind

Last May as everyone looked skyward towards the Super Moon, we packed some snacks, far too few clothes and headed to Max Patch to take it all in.  We arrived well before sunset and staked out a spot along the Appalachian Trail near the highest point of the bald.  As we shivered and waited for the show to begin, other hikers and outdoor enthusiasts arrived to claim their little piece of Heaven from which to watch.  Several AT through hikers arrived just as the sun began to set.  They shed heavy packs and took in the sunset followed by the moon rise   As the moon began to climb, they quickly put their packs back on and headed North to the next shelter for the night.  As they passed near us, I snapped the photo at the top of this blog.  I don't know who the hikers were or if they stuck it out to see Katahdin in the fall.  To me, they exist only as a single image in a single moment in time.

As I have traveled through time and space, I'm sure I exist in the backgrounds of many pictures.  Computers, photo albums and hard drives all over the country likely feature my blurred image in the background of a group photo or perhaps my image mars the foreground of some grand vista.  I exist in these photos only as a bit of furnishings filling out the scene.  I will likely never be aware of these images, much less see them.  The same is true for most all of us.  

These physical photographs are not the only way that we exist as images outside our possession and awareness.  We leave a similar image in the minds of those we encounter.  As I have made my way through life I have left my memory everywhere I have been.  In most cases I exist as no more than a bit of scenery that the person either didn't notice in the first place or that has been blurred by the passage of time.  But in a few cases I may exist as more.  Some phrase I spoke, some action I took, some feeling I caused likely exists that I am completely unaware of.

As we pass through this world, we have an effect on people that we will likely never be aware of.  Sometimes this is a positive influence, sometimes it is not.  Sometimes we can control this influence, other times we have no control over how someone perceives our actions or words.  In the end, we have no idea how far our actions may travel.  We only have the responsibility to leave the best images that we can in the mind's of those we encounter.

What images did you leave behind today?