The Truth About Life …

Things never, ever go according to your plan because you’ll always have unexpected snags and obstacles. There are unforeseen things that will pop up, at the most inopportune moments, and send you in a direction you never expected to go.

Not everyone will like you or want to be your friend and that is okay. Really, it is okay to not be friends with everyone. It is hard enough to tell real friends from false friends until a need arises and they are no where to be found or they toss you aside when you are no longer useful to them.

We all lose motivation and want to ditch our dreams. Remember this, success is transitory – the happiness you feel when you are winning will pass. However, that is the moment that truly successful people step up and keep moving forward.

We all get disappointed and let down by our friends, but remember, attitude is everything – we choose how to react. There’s always something good, if we will only look for it. Life is full of chances, new beginnings and fresh starts.

It is never too late to be who you might have been.

TJ

How to Start Loving Who You Are

1. Start by being kind and gentle with yourself. There are plenty of people who would love to criticize … So be your own protector and your own best friend.

2. Choose self-love over self-hatred. Many people find they drift back and forth between these two extremes – but over time gravitate more towards one or the other (through involuntary thinking and their inner dialogue) … So actively reject self-hatred, and then exercise self-love.

3. Stop being harsh and judgmental and accept your imperfections. We’re all flawed and broken, and we all make mistakes.

4. Start enjoying who you are and being alone with yourself. Embrace solitude, and the chance to be with “you”.

5. Think of all the different things you’re grateful for in life, and the people who have loved you, and have seen the good in you. As you do that, you will start to value who, and what, you are.

TJ

Can I Stay A Little Longer?

Strange how strong the instinct is, to see something incredible, and reach for a camera. As if to lend it some credibility, to prove that it's real, that 'I WAS HERE.' 

We live our lives in moments. Those rare experiences we stop to notice, and carry with us, in the hopes of stringing them together, trying to tell a story. But even in the moment, you can feel it start to fade.

 So you try to capture it, and convert it into something that will last longer than just a flash. And over time a photo feels more real than it's subject. It lets you build a version of the world that you can take with you. 

A world flattened, and simple. A world that doesn't change. That fits in the frame. A little brighter and more colorful. With everything under control. You can travel the world looking for memories, and still find yourself standing behind a camera waiting for the world to hold still. 

With every click of the shutter, you're trying to press Pause on your life. If only so you can feel a little more comfortable moving on living in a world stuck on Play. 

A part of you knows you can't take it with you but that doesn't stop you from trying.

 "What if I could stay just a little longer?" "What if we didn't have to go?" 

We try to capture moments as if we're afraid they'll escape, but they'll get away eventually. 

Take one last look. One more shot. 

So years from now you can flip back through, and try to relive it all over again.

But maybe even then, you'll be thinking to yourself, "Ah well. I guess you had to be there."

 

TJ