4.25.2012

the gift of experience

 "I want you to get into the deep beautiful melancholy of everything that's happened."
-Elizabethtown

"So you failed. Alright you really failed. You failed. You failed. You failed. You failed... You wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around. Make them wonder why you're still smiling."
-Elizabethtown


Remember all the sadness and frustration, then let it go.











Instead of looking at life as good and bad situations, maybe a better way to look at it would be everything as experiences. Life is the gift of experience. And oftentimes after the failure or "bad", something better can come along.

images 1, 2, 3

36 comments:

Gloria said...

Gorgeous images!! Beautiful words here. I missed your last post somehow?? It was a beautiful "Irish" post...:)

Joy in the journey...through it all God has a plan and a purpose. If we will trust in Him to mold our character into better...not bitter.

I hope you are having a happy week!
xoxo...Gloria

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

What a fabulous way to look at things!

Hope you're doing well, sweetie. I've been thinking about you and was so happy that you stopped by today :)

Have a great rest of the week! xoxo

Bonnie said...

These pictures are TOO precious.

http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88

rooth said...

I like that mantra for living - really good advice!

Leah said...

I love those quotes! I've never seen Elizabethtown, I'll have to add it to the list.

classiq said...

Oh, I like that one: "make them wonder why you're still smiling." That's the spirit! Keep your head high and move forward. xo
Ada

tinajo said...

Absolutely true - love the pics! :-)

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

SHAWNA!!

I am so happy to see you again! I am also relieved to hear that your family is well and though it was a tough time, you are back and running again. This is a true post, so appropriate for anyone, anytime, but for me at this moment, it is good since I often feel I make so many errors in my daily life. But those mistakes are a great lesson and the next phase in life for me (I have resigned from teaching) will surely have its moments of blunders. But I saw a message yesterday on Pinterest that I liked:

YOU ARE NOT THE MISTAKES YOU MAKE.

Touché.

My sweet friend, thank you for coming to visit to let me know you are well. I have missed you so!!!! Are you blogging on a regular basis now? ENJOY THE DAY ! Anita

Unknown said...

I loved this post so much... exactly what I needed to read...thank you...

Manon said...

Lovely post!

Prippy Handbook said...

I couldn't agree with you more. This post is wonderful. I have had many tough experiences that have positively shaped my life in ways I never could have imagined. It is all part of the wonderful journey.

xx

Madeleine Roberts said...

I'm guilty of looking at life as good and bad situations, striving to always succeed. But I like the idea of seeing life as a series of experiences. It takes the pressure away of having to be perfect and brings the pleasure back into it.
-Madeleine

Annie said...

Shawna! I've missed you too!! I hope everything is good with you. I love Elizabethtown - that's such a great quote. Hope to catch up soon! xo

Leah said...

This made my day great blog! im your newest follower :)

http://gurlishnotions.blogspot.com/

cb said...

i think that is a great way to look at life because it really is about experience and then what we do with that experience. i hope all is well sweetie!
xo,
cb

amy b.s. said...

these pictures are so lovely. and i love the idea of looking at life experiences. and not focusing on the good and bad.

Monique said...

This is so inspiring and so important to remember at times when we fail or feel overwhelmed by negativity. I hope you are well lady!

Elisa @ Crazy, Amazing Life said...

Absolutely. If I hadn't made the mistakes I made, I wouldn't be where I am. We are the sum of our experiences good and bad. The important thing isn't to never make mistakes, it's to learn from them and use them to help us grow.

Lovely, inspiring post!

StephieB said...

Too true! Thanks for yet another beautiful, thoughtful post.

Have a lovely weekend, Stephie x

Jaime @ laviejaime said...

so true! these photos are so sweet and romatic. have a nice weekend!

Martina said...

All right, this is just exactly what i say to myself when i fail - the quotes at the beginning! Ha, you never know when things turn around ... Have a happy weekend!

simply_KC said...

Love this post!! I really needed this at this moment. I haven't been blogging since the holidays, I became busy writing in wattpad.com something I am most definitely proud of. I am glad you still remember me! You are really sweet. Hope you're doing great!

Life gave me a good curve ball and this post is just heart warming to read. Thank you for posting it!!

♥ :) KC

Unknown said...

Amazing Photos!!! I love it!!!


http://estilohedonico.blogspot.pt/

xoxo

Nelson said...

Hello! My first visit, will visit you again. Seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed your posts( really interesting blog). Would be great if you could visit also mine...Thanks for sharing! Keep up the fantastic work!

Gracey said...

"you wanna be really great? Then have the courage to fail big and stick around." -- exactly my mantra for this year. :) lovely photos btw. happy weekend!

A Plum By Any Other Name said...

Very inspiring post! I feel like I've been "failing" a lot lately ... I guess you could say I've been given the gift of "experience." ;)

Test said...

such a beautiful blog... i sort of had an experience last week that this post reminds me of... have a nice week!

About Last Weekend said...

I have to do this more. Sadly we often hear the criticism and the bad more loudly than the good. Maybe better to say it just all is.

Style, She Wrote said...

Very inspiring quotes! We're feeling more motivated already! :) xo style, she wrote

Mrs. Pancakes said...

this is such a great post...thanks for sharing!

this free bird said...

So very true. A lot of times hurt or failure is where true healing begins.

Gorgeous Glam said...

I agree, everything has purpose and is more than a good/bad experience. I'm glad you stopped by the other day and said hello! Glad to see you are still blogging! xx -Taj

Ann said...

Oh those images...
they're so lovely.
And the words are so inspiring!

About Last Weekend said...

Oops sorry i thought I left a comment, disappeared into the ether. Speaking of which your posts are always so magical and ethereal...

Sierra said...

I couldn't agree more! Beautiful blog post and beautiful words - kind of goes along with what I read this morning. So glad I came across your happy blog. :)

georgia ~ gi gi said...

Oh Poppie Girl! I la la love this post! You know I love Elizabethtown! Jeremy bought it for me for my birthday 5 years ago!

I think from your email, I know what this means! I am sooooo excited and happy for you! Moving on and not looking back, very smart!

I love all these pics! Just oozes love and joy

Much love
gi gi