Don’t delete the picture—the one you look bad in.

I said it.

You heard me.

Don’t delete the picture, that picture—you know the one, the one with the double chin or the bad angle. The picture that is not so flattering. The picture that accentuates your forehead lines or the one taken next to your skinny best friend.

We are all so hard on ourselves. Many of us are striving for a better complexion or a thinner physique. Sometimes scrutinizing ourselves and zooming in on a picture—seeing things the world does not see.

Don’t delete the picture.

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See the moment, see the love in the picture, or see the success. See the beauty in the life around you, the life you created, the people you are blessed to have near you.

Acknowledge that we are not perfect, that life is evolving, and we need to accept ourselves more openly and fully.

You may not love that photo, but it is a stamp in time that you will never get back.

You may not love the photo, but it is a memory worth capturing, and it is not to be lost.

When you delete the picture you lose the moment, the memory, the people, the love, joy, or success.

Don’t delete the picture.

You will never get that moment in time back.

We all live life thinking we have time, there will be other pictures—this one is bad, I have to delete it.

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What if that was your last opportunity for a picture? What if it was the last time you saw someone? Would you delete it?

I never thought about deleting pictures until I unexpectedly lost my young daughter. The weekend before she passed we all got dressed up and went out for a beautiful family dinner. I deleted so many pictures because I did not like the way I looked. Out of so many . . . I saved one.

It sits on my dresser.

It reminds me of her beautiful last day and dinner with her. If only I had known it would be her last, I would not have deleted the pictures.

Life is funny like that—there is no expiration, sometimes no warning.

So please, don’t delete the picture.