Creating a 'life wall'

I’ve been pondering the simple, sacred act of remembering.

There’s a sweetness to looking back—those soft-focus moments that remind us where we’ve walked, who we’ve loved, and how far we’ve come.

Memories often surface at certain times of year, for example at Christmas.

I once read one of Shirley MacLaine’s books. She spoke about her “life wall”—an entire wall of photographs, mementos, scribbled notes, and cherished cuttings that she takes with her every time she moves house.

Something in me clicked.

A life wall wasn’t about living in the past—it was about building a bridge between then and now. A tapestry.

A shrine.

A celebration of the souls, animals, places, and moments that shaped my journey.

Whether the experiences were blissful or painful, they each helped sculpt my nature, and fine-tune the woman I’ve become.

Inspired, I immediately went hunting for my old photo box.

Now, when I say “photo box,” don’t be fooled into imagining something dainty or sentimental. Mine was the size of a small white van. I hauled it into the middle of the room and spent the entire day sifting, smiling, tearing up, and sometimes groaning.

I made myself a few simple rules:

• Discard any photos of people I couldn’t recognize—or didn’t actually like. (Believe me, there were a few!)

• Get rid of duplicates. Do I really need 48 nearly identical photos of Procter, my ginger tom from 30 years ago? One or two, of course. Forty-eight? Absolutely not.

• Ditch the cringe-worthy photos of myself. Some images are better released with gratitude.

• And finally: out with the out-of-focus, blurry, or accidental shots. Life is blurry enough—we don’t need more evidence.

Six black bags later, I emerged triumphant. What surprised me most was the feeling that washed over me: not nostalgia, but integration.

What remained was a slender box of treasures—carefully chosen, deeply meaningful—and a generous tray of photos ready to take their place on my new life wall.

Over a few days I had huge fun creating a collage of these photos - I ended up with half a dozen large frameless hangings that fitted together to make a wonderful pot pourri of people, places and animal companions that have shared my life. Every time I walk past, my eyes are drawn to one particular photo and I'll smile .... because on my life wall I only have things that make me smile and feel joy ..... one might say I Marie Kondo'd my memories! Not sure what this is ....

A thought .... if you don't have wall space, consider creating an online printed photo book .... for example ...https://www.snapfish.co.uk/photo-books

Don't leave photos gathering dust in albums at the back of a cupboard, enjoy the memories - openly xxx Maddie