# @mark.dowdle on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CYFr4LvN1FS
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/130754-markdowdle-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/921310688f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-12-30T01:38:33.000+00:00

## Caption

Closure comes from within. It’s identifying what we need opposed to what we want. The more we hold ourselves and those around us to standards of the past, the less we see people for who they are and what they can become.

It’s hard to say goodbye. Putting an end to certain chapters of our lives means a loss in identity. Thoughts then creep in. Who are we without it? Do we need it? Or is this some new age growth flex in an attempt to keep up with the joneses? By us holding tightly on to who and what we’ve been, a certain blindness to the present shields our perception of a deeper truth.

224 miles in. I’m dazed, damaged, and dispirited on the roadside shoulder of Hwy 81. I listened as cars sped by. Pain became peace. In this moment, it wasn’t thoughts of yesterday and how far I’ve come that rose me to my feet. It was the symphony of sounds happening around me. New members of the team had just arrived, bringing with them life through loving laughter. Warm embraces swiftly shifted to detailed briefings on how everyone could best help one another. It was a beautiful convergence of energy, all planning to move forward as one. It wasn’t about any individual, it was about us.

We are not who we were. Understanding that, or at the very least trying to, is how we can move forward with power. One that doesn’t have to swing the sword to know it’s own strength, but instead empowers others to discover that strength within themselves.

“It’s not about you. It never was.”

📸 @jordanlundell

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 251
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 5

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jordan Lundell | @jordan_lundell | https://gondola.cc/jordan_lundell | Photographer |
| Mark Dowdle | @markdowdle22 | https://gondola.cc/markdowdle22 | Account Manager |

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