On Tears - Iain S. Thomas

Tears and Comfort - Park Guell / Barcelona (Thu 08 Aug 2013)

Iain S. Thomas on Hope and Love:

I hope every tear you ever cry makes you feel a little bit better

via 300 Things [here by Iain S. Thomas].

While I have shed a tear just about everyday for what has been lost - a life, a love, a relationship and a future - I have only shed them to myself. There have only been two times since Jenny died that this has not been the case.

The first time was at the end of the day of Jenny's Funeral. The others headed upstairs when we arrived home that cold winter's evening. I stayed downstairs and went into one of the rooms, closed the door and in the darkness curled up on the floor under the desk and let out a howl that I had not heard before or since. The others came down and comforted me. I had broken down after a week of being brave and doing what I had to do. The other time is for another day but would happen a few months later in a small town in the south of France.

You go through stages and when you stop shedding tears for a time, you wonder if you are forgetting or your heart has just turned to stone. Invariably, something happens - a person, an event, an anniversary but mostly a song - and the tears flow again and you feel better. There is no need to be comforted. I am strong enough to shed them on my own. They are mine only and I find comfort in them because that's what they are for, to make you feel better.

On Caring - I Wrote This for You (Mon 02 Nov 2015)

For a second, the wind blew so hard - Wind in the Willows - Qingpu (Wed Oct 2004)

I Wrote This for You on Caring:

For a second, the wind blew so hard [..] and you had the only hand I wanted to touch.

via The In-between Things by I Wrote This for You (Iain S. Thomas).

you had the only hand I wanted to touch - St George Private Hospital (Mon 29 Jun 2009)

On Love - Iain S. Thomas

Untitled - Always photograph a Heart - Erskineville (Tue 27 Oct 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Hope and Love:

I hope you love whenever you’re given the chance to love

via 300 Things [A Free Book by Iain S. Thomas].

For some it takes courage to fall in love. A Heart is exposed and trusted to another and the world. For others it is the easiest thing in the world. Some are better at finding it than others. I hope you have the courage to fall in love if and when the chance arises.

On Happiness - Memories - Iain S. Thomas / I Wrote this for You (Wed 26Aug 2015)

Paddling - Pacific Ocean / Dover Heights (Sun 11 Aug 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Happiness and Memories:

Happiness isn't forgetting. Happiness is finding new things to remember.

via The Haunted Quiet by Iain S. Thomas.

So obviously true, but mostly forgotten or neglected. Thanks for the timely reminder, Iain.

On Art and Empathy - Iain S. Thomas / Intentional Dissonance

I have a Dream - King Street / Newtown (Mon 24 Aug 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Art and Empathy:

[nice artists] create because they want to describe the world to others so that they won’t make the same mistakes or so that they’ll know what to look out for. They’re extreme empaths and if you’re extremely empathetic, you’re extremely good at communicating and art is about communicating a feelings from a thing to a person.

via Intentional Dissonance by Iain S. Thomas.

On Empathy - Iain S. Thomas / Intentional Dissonance

Heart - King Street / Newtown (Mon 24 Aug 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Empathy:

Niceness is a symptom of empathy. It means you understand how someone else feels and if you understand how someone else feels, it nearly always means you care about them and if you care about them then you’re nearly always nice to them.

via Intentional Dissonance by Iain S. Thomas.

On Accepting Yourself - Iain S. Thomas (Mon 13 Apr 2015)

Untitled - Chippendale (Tue 09 Jun 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on being Yourself and Acceptance:

accept yourself for who you are, with all your failings and shortcomings, and all your successes and your triumphs. [..]

Accept tiredness. Accept frustration. Accept joy. Accept the moments that make life, life. Accept grief and your need to mourn when someone close to you dies. Accept your desire for better things. And accept that the journey to what you're try to accomplish with your life is as important as what you do eventually accomplish with it. It's a chase and that's all it ever will be and there is nothing wrong with that.

The Most Important Thing You Forgot to Do Today by Iain S. Thomas.

On Taking a Risk - Iain S. Thomas (Mon 18 May 2015)

Untitled - Chippendale (Tue 09 Jun 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Taking a Risk:

I have seen people wait their entire life for the perfect moment to squeeze their heart, and that moment never came. I have seen people risk it all too late, be amazed by what they found, and cry over the time they wasted. I have seen people disappointed and sad and poor and more aware of who they are and what they are than anyone who didn't dare risk what they risked. I have seen people never know their own heart, and they may as well have never had one.

Via The Risks of Never Reaching Inside Your Own Chest by Iain S. Thomas.

More On Trying - Iain S. Thomas (Tue 02 Jun 2015)

Whosus - Pacific Dragons Single Craft Day - Barrrenjoey Headland / Palm Beach (Sat 06 Jun 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Trying:

I've been told I'm special in so many different ways my entire life, why should I have to try, and continue to educate myself, try, and maintain a healthy marriage, try, and exercise, try, and work to accomplish something -- anything -- great?

This is one of the hardest illusions in the world to break. I am not special and I need to try if I want anything. There is nothing sad about that. The only happiness, joy and beauty that isn't temporary, that will nourish your soul and make you feel human and connected to yourself, is found in realizing that you actually have to try.

The Exquisite Beauty of Actually Trying by Iain S. Thomas.

On Trying - Iain S. Thomas (Tue 02 Jun 2015)

Whosus - Sydney Harbour Bridge (Wed 01 Apr 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Trying:

it is the act of trying itself that is transcendent [..] Not trying to be cool. Not trying to be cynical and detached. Just trying.

The Exquisite Beauty of Actually Trying by Iain S. Thomas.

On the Beginning of the End - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Wed 12 Mar 2014)

Jenny - The Light was Shining Brightly Here, and as Lisa told me, this photo was "Jenny's Parting Gift to Us" - St George Private Hospital (11:48am Tue 23 Jun 2009)

Iain S. Thomas on Light:

I hope that in the future they invent a small golden light that follows you everywhere and when something is about to end, it shines brightly so you know it's about to end.

The Light That Shines When Things End by Iain S. Thomas.

Geoff - The last Photo Jenny made - The Light Shone Brightly on Me - St George Private Hospital (11:49am Tue 23 Jun 2009)

More On Writing - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Mon 05 Aug 2013)

Live Your Life - Calle de Santa Isabel / Madrid (Sun 11 Aug 2013)

Iain S. Thomas on Writing:

Write About Something Else

Write about something that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Write about something that makes you worry what other people will think.

[..]

Write to try and capture your own unique voice and take on things.

Write About Something Else by Iain S. Thomas.

And that is pretty much what I have done here these last 6 years. It's certainly been uncomfortable. I've definitely worried about what other people will think and it's been done my way. And the best bit is that I have loved every minute of it. You've Gotta Love It as Patricia would say.

On Writing - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Sat 06 Sep 2014)

Untitled - Paris (Fri 19 Sep 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Writing:

Keep writing. Give everything away for free. That's what worked for me.

Remember: Every word you write makes you one word better than you were before you wrote it.

I might have survivor bias but I believe if you keep doing the thing you love, eventually you get good at it and people notice it.

via reddit by Iain S. Thomas.

On Inspiration - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Sat 06 Sep 2014)

Untitled - Chippendale (Thu 04 Jun 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Inspiration:

a lot of my inspiration comes from the idea of simply telling the truth about the way that you feel.

reddit by Iain S. Thomas.

On Despair - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Mon 30 Jul 2012)

Self Portrait - Despair - Jerrabomberra Creek / Canberra (Sat 12 Mar 2005)

Iain S. Thomas on Despair:

Appreciate every moment of happiness and remember it when you despair. Hold them close. And when you are happy, remember the moments of despair and think to yourself, "I told you so."

The First Day On Earth by Iain S. Thomas.

Before Tim did what he did, I'm pretty sure I did not know what Despair meant. When we left Canberra the day after we said Goodbye, we went to the place he decided to leave us. When I took this photo of myself, this is when I finally understood what Despair meant - it's written all across my face. And more importantly, I found out what it felt. A hard way to learn the meaning of a word. This is Life and we take from it what we can to make us stronger and more resilient.

On a Heavy Heart - I Wrote this for You / Iain S. Thomas (Mon 25 May 2015)

Self Portrait - Alexandria (Mon 01 Jun 2015)

I Wrote this for You on Heart:

If you carry someone in your heart for too long, it will become heavy..

via The Sky Has Weight by I Wrote this for You (Iain S. Thomas.

Nothing the matter with a heavy heart. At least you know you have a heart and that's all you need to live, to be grateful for what you had and to be happy just for that. I realised this a long time ago and it is how I choose to live my life. Today, the first cold day of winter, it shone through a little brighter than normal.

A Heart of Stone - Iain S. Thomas (Mon 18 May 2015)

And love dares you to care for/The people on the edge of the light - King Street / Newtown (Sun 17 Apr 2011)

Iain S. Thomas on Heart:

I am saying: risk squeezing your heart, because I believe there's goodness there, for both you and the world.

Sure, maybe it'll be made of stone.

But if you squeeze it hard enough, you'll get blood

via The Risks of Never Reaching Inside Your Own Chest by Iain S. Thomas.

And love dares you to change our way of/Caring about ourselves - King Street / Newtown (Sun 17 Apr 2011)

If You Are Lucky - I Wrote This For You / Iain S. Thomas (Thu 28 May 2015)

Street Portrait - Redfern (Fri 29 May 2015)

I Wrote this for You on Luck:

If you’re lucky, the horrible thing that happens gives you some distance from the world and it lets you to look at it in a way no one else does. [..]

Because you’re the lucky one.

via The Horrible Thing That Happens by I Wrote this for You (Iain S. Thomas.

On Uncomfortableness - Iain S. Thomas (Sun 26 Apr 2015)

Reeds and Bird in Flight - Adelaide (Fri 01 May 2015)

Iain S. Thomas on Uncomfortable:

Uncomfortableness isn't something to be avoided. Uncomfortableness must be embraced. It is how we achieve what we set out to achieve.[..]

Introducing uncomfortableness into the system, into the process you're going through, isn't going to mess it up. The uncomfortableness in the system quite often is the system. It's the walls of the house you're building, whether that house is a business, a career, your art or an exercise routine. [..]

It is the strain against the muscle when you exercise that builds it. It is the hours you spend studying that earn you your diploma. It is the patience you have with each other that grows a strong marriage. And, ironically, whether it's doing the dishes or running or anything else, expecting that life will be easy and comfortable is the surest path to pain and frustration.

So, I wish you peace, and an uncomfortable day.

via The Art of Being Uncomfortable by Iain S. Thomas.

When you are shy, profoudly shy, and I was born with shyness deeply embedded in me, almost every moment of your life is uncomfortable. The only respite coming when you are in a familiar environment by yourself or in the company of those that love and understand you for who you are. Everything seems hard, but I have managed and have survived to live a rewarding and fulfilling life. I have achieved things I never thought possible, some of which is captured here in my humble blog. And maybe that is why I do this, to demonstrate to myself that I am doing something with my Life, in spite of how hard it always seems and feels.

I have Iain's Book I Wrote this for You. I don't know how I stumbled across it, but I can relate to his words which are also on his blog (iwrotethisforyou.me).

This is what I thought when I read the above and so it is uncomfortably and awkwardly captured here in this post.