Freebie: The Route to Imperfection

I took days to figure out what to write about. I wanted it to be perfect. Flawless. It'd be a staggering feat - one that can take this from teetering on the brink of mere steady progress to its breakout success. 

By the end of the week, stacks of drafts had filled my desk, and I haven't come to a resolution. It's just not perfect, I thought. Perfection. We'll be damned if we can't figure out its magic formula. 

I had sprawled out my brushes to hand letter various pieces over and over, only to make more mistakes, and setting me back in a fray. And after more unsuccessful attempts to create an impeccable piece, I reluctantly accepted the hard truth - perfection was clearly insurmountable. 

The reason to why the formula to perfection is so 'magical' is because it doesn't exist. We strive so hard for something that's clearly unattainable. I'd set out to create perfection, cracking my head before realising the only way to be perfect is to be imperfect. And the only way to be imperfect is, quite frankly, to be fearlessly authentic. 

After much thought, I made a wallpaper for myself that I'd like to share to remind all of us not to be afraid to just be ourselves. It's the yellow brick road to flawless imperfection. 

download in three colours

Version 1 // Baby Blue

Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920

Laptop 2880 x 1800

Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Version 2 // Navy

Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920

Laptop 2880 x 1800

Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Version 3 // Black

Phone (Android/iPhone) 1080 x 1920

Laptop 2880 x 1800

Desktop 2560 x 1600 / 1280 x 1024

Everyone is seemingly, shamelessly, attempting to appear perfect, especially in this digital era. In social media or even being around others - we swallow our sour concoction of pain, weakness and fear, peddled on the promise of appearing just completely defectless to the universe. However, it is these flaws that makes us unique. 

Authenticity is a human attribute. To be authentic is to accept our little flaws. Simon Sinek, a trained and inspiring ethnographer, mentions: 

"Great leaders are not the strongest, they are the ones who are honest about their weaknesses. Great leaders are not the smartest; they are the ones who admit how much they don't know. Great leaders can't do everything; they are the ones who look to others to help them. Great leaders don't see themselves as great; they see themselves as human.  

Great leaders don't try to be perfect, they try to be themselves. And that's what makes them great." 

I profess I'm not the best at creating lettering work, and regardless of any blows and criticisms, it's the best way to learn and try. People connect with humanness, authenticity, imperfection, and transparency. It's time we gather some courage to be authentic and show our imperfections. 

Until next time ♥  

Imperfect lettering by me 

Wallpapers created by Dian from The Happy Candle. For personal use only. Not for distribution or resale. Please link back to original post if shared. Thank you.

Check out more freebies here. 

Blackbirds

A few days ago, while I was in the train, I overheard a conversation of a man on his phone grumbling about how he despised this situation he was in. His thoughts were cold, and he saw the everything as raw and scorched. He kept talking about how worse it'd get in time to come. But before he hung up, he did say something interesting - "It's not going to get better. But I'll work on it."

From just that conversation, I discovered a few things. For one, he's clearly not an optimist. But he had an attribute that most people perceive they do - hope. I was adamant to find out more about this new understanding I was just grasping - there's a stark difference between optimism and hope. But what is it?

"Optimism is the way you think," my sister explained casually at the end of our ride. "It's thinking positive." She intended to explain more before I brought up the word 'hope', but she was busy responding to something important in her phone.

The notion occurred to me that perhaps optimism is an attitude. Hope on the other hand, is a belief, and it comes with a plan to do something about it. We think our future will be better than today. But hope is the belief in a better future and taking action towards achieving it.

We can be a pessimist and still be hopeful at the same time. We can be painfully annoying bleak thinkers, piqued by everything we see, but we can also take action to improve what's important to us, just like the man on the train.

Sir Paul McCartney wrote this beautiful song as a reaction to racial tensions escalating in the United States in the spring of 1968. Blackbirds were a symbol of hope and freedom meant for the black people's struggle in the southern states. 

The world has it's own new blackbirds, whether due to discrimination against another religion or mere refugees finding a place to flee. Many civil rights issues have been overcome last decade, but more have been cropping up, and all these people need is a little more than just optimistic onlookers for the world to have a sliver of hope.

Nothing's wrong with being optimistic. But when wishing on a star outweighs making a difference, when building pretty castles in the air surpasses making an effort towards our goals, and when "It'll get better" trumps "I'm doing something about it", we're simply not being true to ourselves at all.

I've been caught up a lot this week, chipping away at chores and being bombarded with an overwhelming quantity of to-do lists, having some slight issues with the scanner as well, but I'd like to continue writing one to two posts weekly about some observations and share some of my recent lettering work to inspire others. Sometimes, it's the littlest things that makes us realise the huge ones that we never really take to heart, and nothing is more liberating than to just write about it.  

The blackbird probably sees nothing but it's broken wings but she has hope, because she's well capable of flying. She should very well take her first plunge, because her ability to fly - the action of working towards her brighter future - comes when she least expects it.

Until next time ♥

Lettering by me, Photo by me
Find me on Pinterest for more lettering work.

Tagged: 'Sisterhood of The World Blogger' Award

I appreciate the nomination/tag for the Sisterhood of The World Blogger Award by Neal from Daily Diaries. I was given 10 questions to answer, mostly about books.

Attempting not to be a wet blanket, I used to believe awards nominations / tags like these with questions put up illusions. I don't suppose many will be interested in my answers, but it'll make one believe so. I never anticipated I'd ever get involved in it but it's definitely a beneficial method to connect with one another in the blogosphere. I'll probably just approach this as a compilation of mini book reviews and make this quick.☺

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(What is) your guilty pleasure? 

I feel completely rested when sleeping for long hours but it leads to such an unproductive day. I'm working towards obtaining a regular sleep cycle and having healthier sleep. 

(What is) one book you wish you could read all over again for the first time? 

I'd like to experience the thrill of reading Joyce Maynard's After Her again. It'll be fascinating to delve into the suspense of the book, while learning the identity of the murderer. Putting pieces of the crime and its suspects together as the protaganist approaches the answer she seeks all over again is indeed engaging. It will be more apt for one to feel exhausted after reading as if they've chased the perpetrator itself and followed the investigation. Having to read it once again to experience just the sudden excitement would be pleasant. 

(What is) the worst book you've ever read? The one which disappointed you the most. 

Ice Cream by Helen Dunmore is a book that consists of various plots and characters that I was confused with initially. First impressions are important when it comes to reading a book and Ice Cream had made the otherwise when it introduced it's mundane characters. Perhaps it depends on each reader. The reviews given on Goodreads were fairly acceptable, but I was disappointed when it wasn't as satisfying as expected. 

If books could talk, like actually talk, which book would you like to talk to? 

Some might have heard of this book. Scott Westerfield's Uglies is a science fiction novel set in a future dystopian world in which everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery upon reaching age 16 (even males). Before they undergo the operation at 16, they are known as Uglies. It tells the story of teenager Tally Youngblood who rebels against the society's enforced conformity, after her newfound friends show her the downsides to becoming a "Pretty". They show her how being a "Pretty" can change not only your look but your personality. 

This book was up for the big screens but production was halted, so it's a shame, but it would be wonderful to be able to ask the characters about their feelings living in such a world that is in fact similar to ours, where beauty is venerated in our image-obsessed society. I'd like to hear the voices of those who remained an Ugly and escaped the operation and learn more about how they managed to navigate the challenges.

(What is) your favourite character from any book you've ever read? 

Najwa in Leila Aboulela's Minaret is one of my favourite characters in a book.

Minaret tells the story of the spiritual exploration of a young woman, Najwa when she is forced to leave her country, Sudan, with her family. Najwa is a determined girl whose family was initially privileged, but becomes exiled when her father is involved with the coup forces. Her family is taken into political exile in London, impoverished, where she finds herself in a quiet fortitude learning to improve on her faith. At the same time, she becomes a maid to a wealthy Sudanese family and meets Tamer, her employer's son. The two forge a friendship and a common bond in faith that will eventually blossom to something more. The book is also an insightful novel about a wink of the Islamic faith that the Western world are only beginning to understand. 

I find Najwa's experiences in learning more about her faith compelling. I admire her optimism despite the dishonour that had fallen upon her family, and look up to her strength and nobility after her father had passed. She is a great example of resilience in her spiritual beliefs in this multifaceted world. 

(What is) your favourite song, artist and band? 

We're Not Alone by Echosmith is the most played song on my playlist and my favourite song, Echosmith is my favourite band at the moment, but I get pretty interested in new bands quickly, so that might change.

Echosmith is an alternative + indie pop band composed of four siblings. Their album Talking Dreams brought a fresh, original vibe to the indie pop scene. We're Not Alone is an anthemic song that focuses on positivity and reminds us that we should always give a hand and support one another, finding strength through goodwill. It allows us to glean some morsel about life and reminds us to focus on our dreams regardless of any constant barrage that negates what we have done.

If you are writing a novel and you want to include someone you know, who would you choose? 

I would include two people I know - my twin and a good friend, who I've known since we were in secondary school when we were in Girl Guides. She has a unique personality that would make a rather likable character for the novel. 

What genre do you usually go for? Which is your favourite book outside that genre? 

Mystery and Crime has always been a genre I enjoy. A book that sits well with me in another genre, Fantasy, is perhaps J.K Rowling's Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. 

(What is) a book that made you cry after/while reading?

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is a perfect book to cry over, and although with much disgrace, I profess I didn't shed a tear while reading it, it did make me feel extremely sorry for the characters. However, I did tear up a little while watching the film. Hosseini is a brilliant writer who never fails to tug on the heartstrings of his readers. The Kite Runner is a beautiful novel exploring love and loss and its unfortunate turn of events is the most liberating feature of the novel.

(What are) your views on the Twilight movie or book? 

I believe every author has a different approach to writing their novel, and as much as a I'm not interested in books that are mainly based on romance, I respect Stephanie Meyer's decisions into making the book something that explores the desires, fears and frustrations of young adults, that in fact many can deeply relate to,  and eventually become a fan of.

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Until next time! ♥

Lettering by me, photos by me.

I don't usually update my books here, but you can find me on Goodreads.