#captionsbywriters

[acupofkeen]

You can fall to your knees and beg someone to love you in the same way you love them, but no matter how many oceans you cross for another, it's meaningless if you can't begin to love yourself before needing reassurance from someone else.

Keen Malasarte, You Receive The Love You Give Yourself.

[jonathanzoeteman]

It’s interesting to me that we’re so attracted to images and moments that evoke the idea of “rest”. As I look at so many of the images shared (I’ve shared plenty myself including this one) over social media, so many reflect an idea of life from a place of rest or peace. And yet we’re probably one of the most hurried, over-tired, over-stimulated generations in history. We love the idea and theory of margin, the idea of a more mindful and present way of living. But it’s often difficult to admit that we wrestle deeply with living that out in practice. I don’t share these words tonight from a place of having it all figured out, in fact I’m far from it most days, but sometimes the first part of the solution is the simple recognition of the problem. It’s okay to stop. It’s okay to push pause. It’s okay to take that break, to take a day off. It’s okay to say no to something that sounds good but you’re a little (or a lot) burned out. It’s okay to say no. Period. And when you see images like this one or the thousands of others as you scroll, know that most of those people are still on their own journey of discovering what rest looks like, figuring it out each day at a time just like the rest of us. ______ #Socality #CaptionsByWriters (at Fairmont, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtP1mHcgEpr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8o02gero7qtq

[acupofkeen]

Just because you don’t look like somebody who you think is attractive doesn’t mean you aren’t attractive. Flowers are pretty, but so are Christmas lights and they look nothing alike.

[jonathanzoeteman]

Maybe life hurts a lot right now, and maybe you feel too much, and maybe you’re scared, and maybe not much has gone the way you thought. Maybe you feel behind, left out, cast aside, or forgotten. Maybe this world has been overwhelmingly unkind. Maybe hope feels like the nothing more than the faintest spark. There is grace even there. There is still hope in the midst of the darkest of nights. There is still light inside of you. And maybe one of the greatest parts of living well is sharing a bit of that light when it grows dim in those around us. Whatever your hopes, your fears, your dreams, whatever your pain, your failures, your struggles, or defeats, know this: you’re not alone. There is still room for you here. ______ #MakePortraits #CaptionsByWriters #Socality https://www.instagram.com/p/Bu7zB8bgmCM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ilqjyvxjzs04

[jonathanzoeteman]

For those of you who consider yourselves creative in some way, it’s okay to be in a place of tension between the place you are and the place you want to be. It’s okay to look at the things you create with less passion than you did yesterday. It’s okay to be in the process. It’s okay to simply keep going in the midst of that process. So if you’re finding yourself in that in-between creatively just know that you’re not alone (I’m somewhere in that space too). None of this life thing is a formula and our creativity and expression is no different. ______ #Socality #CaptionsByWriters (at Storm Mountain Lodge) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKqGXVAMUM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17rb5sgwrf43q

[jonathanzoeteman]

In years past I’ve known friends who chose a word for a particular year, but it’s not something I’ve ever done before. Today as the calendar turned over though, I couldn’t shake the word “intentional” as my focal point for this year. It’s so easy to go through our days just taking things as they come and responding to the circumstances at hand instead of proactively engaging with the world around us. I have a great deal of admiration for those who do the latter, and it’s one thing I’d like to see woven into more and more of what I do in 2019. Intentionality is something I want to see most for myself in four areas: in my work and creativity, in my relationships, in my time, and in my rest. Creatively it means pursuing more personal creative projects, and putting more thought and intention into the imagery and work I share via this platform and elsewhere. I’ve loved sharing the various landscape and portraiture captures from numerous adventures this past year but I’m looking forward to dreaming up some bigger creative concepts and excited to share them. On a personal level, intentionality means treating time with the level of respect it deserves and dedicating enough of it to rest and to the relationships that matter most. I’m sure you’ve been bombarded with New Years posts today, but if you managed to read this far, I’d love to know if you have a word for 2019, or anything specific you’re looking at being more intentional about this year. All the best in 2019! ______ #Socality #CaptionsByWriters #HappyNewYear2019 (at Emerald Lake) https://www.instagram.com/p/BsHrcpygiWf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=u238xo2161si

[jonathanzoeteman]

You’re not playing catch up, you’re not falling behind. You’re right where you need to be.  You’re not alone. This life isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon, and it’s how you finish that matters most. We’re all given different tools, different abilities, different raw materials. We’re all given the same amount of time in our days. The same world from which to dream and create. We all get to define this idea of “success" for ourselves.  We all get to discover what it means to leave our mark on this world. There is time. Time to be. Time to discover. Time to rest.  Time for inspiration. For play. For moments of wonder. Time to love. Time to remember. Time to dream. Time to let go of the past and start again. And if you find yourself back at the start, know that there’s more than enough grace to lead you back home. __________ #Socality #CaptionsByWriters (at Stokksnes) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnDL10il_e3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=e9pwtpfugkbi

[jonathanzoeteman]

I’ve been thinking a lot over the last few months about women’s movements, and the role that we as men play in all of it. I’ll probably share more another day and it’s a conversation I’d love to open up in a deeper way at some point, but I believe that so much of what needs to be done in relation to these issues is so directly connected to the issues we see in the high levels of broken masculinity so apparent in our culture. It’s amazing that so many women have felt empowered over the last few years to speak into so many important issues, but perhaps it’s time we took a hard look as men at the things we are doing that led to these destructive cycles in the first place. I’ll leave it there for now, but would love to continue the dialogue further in the future. We all play a part in a world where every person is seen and loved for the beautiful miracle that they are. __________ #Socality #CaptionsByWriters #ExploreBC (at Emerald Lake)