This photo was taken of my by a good friend Elliot Gray while in the Philippines. We were both stoke don how it came out as we only gave it four or five shots before we went for another surf. Then later as I went to post onto the all mighty Instagram (wish I would have known about Steemit earlier! Eff) I realized something. This picture was actually a reflection of what I was doing in life at the point in time. I was desperately trying to finish my documentary with zero funds left, I had had two of my best childhood friends die of drug overdose within a year. I was desperately running as hard as I could just to keep pushing forward. I was sad and I was so so hard on myself. Thinking why couldn't you have been there for them? Why are you doing this stupid documentary? No one will want to watch this. These kids lives you are trying to impact is a bunch of crap. You're nothing of value. This is what I believe for a time. Then I realized one thing.
Sometimes we are, in all good heartedness, working as hard as we can to accomplish something, but in reality we just need to change the way we view the situation.
Stop yourself. Look around. Take 30 minutes to think. Don't think about solutions and how you can fix it or what you are doing wrong. Just give yourself credit for what you have already done. Remember who you are, what you've accomplish and that even though things aren't working, at the moment, that you aren't a failure.
When we give our selves that leeway it can open our eyes back up, bring back that creativity we squelched in our "workin."
And then, after that, you might just look around and realize how hard you've been running when you just need to swim. Life is full of perspective, and sometimes there are so many things out of our grasp that we can not change, but one thing we can always change is our attitude and our perspective.
If you've needed this today, as I have also written this to remind myself, then please don't give up. What you are doing. What you are dreaming. Might as well be the very next thing that could change your life, or someone else's life. In the end of it all, the boy's, who were in the documentary, lives were completely change, I was able to help other friends still struggling with addiction back home and the documentary is now accepted to three different Film Festivals.
Remember if you're drowning underwater, just have a swim instead because you never know how things will turn out in the end.
