#thoughts4thoughts

[shawnna-downing]

🥁🥁🥁 . . . #thoughts4thoughts #showyourwork #writinginmarker #writingitout #newyear #whodis #fuckthehow #this #is #it #begin #start #splash #bestill #beyou #xoxox (at Toronto Pearson International Airport)

[fuckthehow]

Motivation

Chapter One. 

“If it is important enough to you, you will find a way. If it is not, you will find an excuse.” We all have to drag ourselves out of bed in the morning, whether you’re Bob Dylan or Matisse, Michael Jordan or Tony Hawk, Diana Ross or Salvador Dali. We all have the opportunity to wake up and get to work. There is no tangible difference between the heros we admire and ourselves, we’re all human. And yet we have an incredibly one sided perspective; we see them as moving in the world finished and complete. Doing and creating the things we dream of while we see ourselves as struggling and not yet where we would like to be. What we don’t see or consider is the process or the journey they took to get there; complete with failures, rejections and fears. We often find ourselves asking how did they do it? Or better yet, how can I? Motivation doesn’t come from a magical place, I’m not even sure it’s something you work at. It seems to be that motivation is both fact and fiction. It’s the story we tell ourselves, it’s the stories we tell to inspire each other. But it’s the story that comes after something has already happened. As for the how, the how is the process, it’s the waking up and dragging ourselves out of bed, anybody can do it. But there is something meaningful to be found in the why we do something. It’s what sets us apart. It’s something only you possess. It’s the desire you have or at the very least your willingness to do something. It’s your curiosity. And it’s the reason it doesn’t matter who you are. Anybody can be curious, but nobody is curious in the same way you are or sees the world the way you do. You are here, you are the reason, so now what? You probably won’t be able to change the whole world or at least you can’t change it all over night, but what’s one thing you would like to change or what’s one thing you would like to see?  It’s time we took a moment to reflect, ponder and wonder why we’re here and get specific; what does your personal version of the world look like? That’s where our motivation comes from. So often we don’t do anything because we’re afraid. We’re afraid of failure, of getting it wrong, we’re afraid that we’re not talented enough or not good enough. Even if we’ve gotten it right in the past, whatever it is - a design, a piece of music... - we’re afraid it won’t happen again. We are afraid of not only the failure but that we are phony. That we are fake and that in truth we don’t know what we are doing. The truth is that everyone feels this, on some level or in some way. No one has it figured out - no one knows what they’re doing. The success stories we hear, see or have even experienced ourselves, arose from not only pushing outside our comfort zone but also from the magic of synchronicity that happens when you show up. You start. Anything worthwhile is going to be difficult, we have to stop acting so surprised by effort and hard work and to not be embarrassed by it. Our self-worth, self-love and self-respect are not tied to getting it right or to getting it wrong. Participation and persistence is really all there is. You show up as you are, as you are today, as flawed as you are, you show up.

And if what’s holding us back is that we aren’t good enough then we must accept ourselves as flawed individuals and have some inner confidence in the process of improvement. You will get better if you start, and if you start you will begin to answer the question; “why am I here?” You may never fully discover the answer, but if you ask you will have the experience of a lifetime. We all wake up and then have to drag ourselves out of bed in the cold morning. Don’t wait until you know who you are to get started. If you’re here, you’re ready and that’s enough.

[thoughts-4-thought-blog]

Since When...

Since when do we have to choose? Since when is everything black and white? Since when is one side wrong and the other right 100%? Since when do hypocrites call others the same name? Since when can we raise children to see the right vs wrong and condemn them for standing up for it? Since when does a word only have one real definition? Since when do people have to go by labels to decide how to see the world? Since when did you give me a voice, a vote just to say I'm wrong? Since when do I have to stand for either side? Since when do I have to be either condemned or praised for my views instead of listened to? SINCE WHEN DID WORDS AND WISDOM BECOME JUST VOID NOISE?! Here's the thing... These things have always been a problem. These things have always been prevalent to our world. These things seem to be permanent. But here's the thing about permanence in today's world... IT DOESN'T EXIST! Think of things that are "permanent"... markers? Try rubbing alcohol or hairspray. Tattoos? Laser removal. "Except for death (and paying taxes) everything in life is only for now." The bad news? The world isn't black and white... even though we try to see it like that, it's not. It's full of grey areas and blind spots. Nothing is ever the same between two different people. Situations change. Ideas change. Everything changes. Therefore, nothing can ever be 100% because everyone cares about different things. But that is OKAY. The good news? You can be who you want. You can choose to believe what you wish. You can do what you want with your life and what's in it... the choices are yours but so are the consequences and the rewards. Just because someone says your wrong, doesn't mean you are. There is always more than one solution to a question. And even more ways to get that solution... Labels are for soup cans and shampoo bottles. Us as humans are NOT meant to be labeled and sold like everyday items. We are PRICELESS. All of us. So yes. I urge you to stand up for what you believe in. But, in doing that I challenge you to not only open your mouth, but to open your mind to thought process and logic... to open your ears to actually listen to what others are saying. To open your heart to being compassionate for the grey areas and those afraid and hurting... and to open your arms for those who need the comfort. And this, my friend, is how the world starts to change. ~M

[shawnna-downing]

New @fuckthehow essay up on the blog! If you feel it; FuckTheHow.tumblr.com ✌🏽 . . . #chapterone #motivation #sundaze #thoughts4thoughts #writersofinstagram #typeitout #fuckthehow #yougotthis #wegotthis #mondaymotivation #onasunday #artists4artists #lovelife #kissesonkisses #kbye #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

It will not be easy, everything takes time. In time we come to see, we come to understand, we come trust without hesitance that; the crescent moon will become full. And that fullness is always worth the wait. . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writingonawhim #writingonanipad #patience #wehowlatthemoonforareason #chaos #creation #theuniverseisahandful #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

We could spend our whole lives waiting.. waiting for approval, until we’re “good enough”, the job, the partner, the dream, the house, the money, the vacation, the move - we could wait until we know who we are.. Or we could just start. We could start right now. With whatever we have, wherever we are. We could start, we don’t have to wait. Unless we want to, but let us come to understand, or to see, it’s a choice. It’s a choice to wait or to passively endure. But let’s honestly ask ourselves; what are we really waiting for? . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writingonawhim #writingincutouts #showyourwork #fuckthehow #writesomething #asksomething #splash #bestill #beyou #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

✍️💭 . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writeitout #showyourwork #thankskurt #choice #thatsthething #yougotthis #wegotthis #fuckthehow #comeasyouare #splash #bestill #beyou #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

The child that loves to write, find & mix clippings to go on the walls is still alive & surviving 🙈💕👶 #writingsonthewall #writingsonadoor #clippings #piecesofus #thoughts4thoughts #showyourwork #practice #process #writingwithwhatyagot #rearrange #change #make #fuckthehow #becauseyougotthis #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

A little something I’m working on ... 💭 . . . #thoughts4thoughts #sheaintperfect #showyourwork #writinginpen #sundaze #validationisforparking #splash #bestill #beyou #fuckthehow #bethepersonyouwereborntobe #comeasyouare #thankskurt #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

🤷🏽‍♀️💭 . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writeitout #feelitout #showyourwork #writinginpencil #splash #bestill #beyou #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

If speaking kind words to plants helps them grow, imagine what speaking kindly to yourself or others could do ... 🌱 . . . One of these was a lot harder to make 🤔. . . #negativitytakesmoreeffort #writinginmarker #thoughts4thoughts #nourish #encourage #waterthegrass #sundaze #writeitout #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

Something's are incredibly broken and incredibly beautiful .. Don't focus so much on everything & everyone having a purpose that life loses all meaning. You are a child of the universe, just like the trees & the stars. They do not exist for you, they exist with you. Life is purposeless, and isn't it that very thing that makes you so filled with wonder? ☕️🎞 . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writingonawhim #showyourwork #purposelesschair #todayisthebestdayever #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

✨✨✨✨✨ . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writinginpen #onrepeat #1in400trillion #yougotthis #wegotthis #fuckthehow #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

Do you make decisions about beating your heart? Is this all planned? Even if you feel you're all mixed up - you can't stop it. We may attempt to live completely in the present; the here and now. But you can't do it. What if there's nothing to think about except the here and now, even if you're thinking about the past or the future you're doing it all the present. You are present. A vibration that is happening. Life is a vibration the whole time and all the way through. So why do we worry? . . . #thoughts4thoughts #writingonawhim #polroid #novascotia #home #sunsets #showyourwork #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

These beautiful seconds 🌾 . . . #writingdaze #writinginpen #thoughts4thoughts #writingonawhim #toomanythoughtsallinoneplace #showyourwork #yougotthis #wegotthis #fuckthehow #splash #bestill #beyou #xoxox

[shawnna-downing]

It’s easy to love perfection, unblemished and infallible. What is far more difficult is to love a fellow human being with all their imperfections and defects. Remember, one can only know what one is capable of loving. There is no wisdom without love. Unless we learn to love what has been created we can neither truly love nor truly know creation. ❤ #showyourwork #thoughts4thoughts #rulesoflove #xoxox