You Are Enough
I just had a really awesome conversation with an amazing person. She is one of the most beautiful people I know.
You know when someone is just so amazing and doesn't even know it, and you just wish for one day you could show them just how great and valuable they are and that they don't need to be anything else?
I think we all know people like that, and this girl is definitely one of them.
She has this amazing personality and such a great soul (I don't really know how else to explain it). Along with that she has this awesome image that is so unique and perfect for her. From the way she wears everything to the way she talks and laughs is all hers and just shows how special she is.
She was talking about making a small change and realized that this change (even though it was only a small surface change) would take away from who she was because it wouldn't be coming from who she is, it would be coming from an image she thought she should be.
It's so easy to fall into this trap, especially in an industry (and a world) based so much on physical appearance. I just think that true uniqueness and personal images that come from who we truly are are what make everything become more alive.
Just letting ourselves Be who we are from the heart is so awesome because without true people like the people you know and like my beautiful friend then what does this industry and this world stand for?
We are not meant to be pre-packaged, put together images of what we think we should be.
Maybe if you fit into a certain mold you can get that photo shoot, take that trophy or win that approval, but what does that even mean?
What are you if you create yourself from little pieces of people or things labeled as important? You are an illusion. A creation. You are something that truly represents nothing. I don't believe anyone can truly feel successful in those circumstances and there could never be anything more lonely.
If you are true to yourself what will you represent? Genuine strength and true purpose. There can be nothing more influential and powerful than that. That will be recognized and you will still get the great opportunities, you will still be a winner and you will get true approval from more people than you ever imagined. But these things will come from being recognized for the true you. It will be real.
I think real will always win over an image because how could there be anything more successful than achieving a dream in your own way?
Just Words
There are so many words to say why we can't do something, about why something isn't possible for us or why we aren't good enough. These words might have been said to us in the past and for some reason we're still holding onto them, making them into our everyday thoughts. It doesn't really
matter where they've come from, words and thoughts alone are so powerless,they aren't really
real.They can't do anything and they can't stop anything from happening, especially our actions.
It's our belief in them and our choices that make them real. We can choose to give power to some story we're being told by someone else, or are still telling ourselves or we can hear it and take it for what it is,
some made up nothing, a tale, just words.
What If instead of making these sad stories real with our beliefs, we just write something new for ourselves. Then if we do that maybe we could make it something worth believing in.
In A Great World
There are times when things work out differently. Maybe we’ve felt disappointed, things didn’t happen as easily as we wanted them to or the way we wanted them to. We have to start over, push harder. Why can’t it just be easier? If everything happened exactly as we wanted all the time, if everything fell into our laps, if we didn’t have to work so hard then what would there be to really feel good about? How lucky are we to have the opportunity to have challenges push us toward our goals, to make us use our creativity, to see exactly how much we are capable of. In a great world would everything be easy or in a great world would we see how great it already is?
Let's Play!
Some of the World's Greatest Ways to Spend Time:
Laughing til we feel like we'll pee in our pants
Playing dress up
Seeing how high we can swing...then how high we can jump off
Trying to pop a wheely
Pillow fights
Play fighting
Building a snowman
Blowing bubbles
Watching cartoons
Bumper cars
Tickle wars
Playing alongside a child (and not just to humour them but because we want to)
We all deserve to play. What's a greater gift you can give yourself and the people you love then the gift of laughter and a great memory. "Grownups" never forget how to play, we just choose not to. Sometimes we tell ourselves we're just "too old" to do that, or it would be "silly." But why does silly have to be a bad thing and who decided what being a grown up means? We need to have genuine joy in our lives or we can feel trapped. Sometimes we even feel so trapped that we look for escape routes and ways to feel free: maybe drugs, extreme alcohol use, just being careless with ourselves and closed off. Let's face it: who wouldn't rather be taken back to a memory where you laughed so hard that you cried then to one that you wish you could forget. Go out and play. Don't worry about what people might think or say. The way we see the world reflects how we see our selves so if someone passes judgement on you then they're not too happy with where they're at right now. Don't take it to heart, just hope for them that one day they let themselves play too.
Strong Enough To Share
Being independant doesn't have to mean being completely reclusive. Yes we are strong enough to stand on our own, yes we are capable of taking care of ourselves. That doesn't mean we have to scoff at a helping hand or shut everyone out while making it known that "we don't need anyone." Letting someone be a part of our lives in even the smallest seeming way can make both people feel amazing. It's an uplifting feeling for everyone involved to include people in a task or a goal at times out of choice. There's a difference between sharing with someone and leaning on them. Leaning is life draining while sharing is life giving and life changing.
Until Next Time
Sometimes on the way toward changes we get tired and afraid. What's next? Am I making the right choices? Am I going to be okay? We look back and wonder if we've come too far and if we should just hold on to what we know for a little bit longer. Being scared is okay, and so is looking back. It doesn't mean we'll fall, it just means we're standing in a different place now and are allowed to reflect. If there was never those other times, maybe darker times, then how would we know the difference between how we feel now or be able see how far we were able to come. We don't have to be scared of a dark past because it can't come back to get us, we don't have to be scared of the future because we're the one's forming it.
Sometimes we miss, people, places, feelings and want so badly to get those things back even just for a little while. Especailly when we feel tired, run down and just feel like being comforted by what we know. Those things were in our lives for a reason and we don't have to be sad when we don't have them there anymore, it just means they've done what was needed to be done at that time. The reason it hurts so bad when we try so hard to hold onto something is because if it 's meant to go it's already gone. So it only drains us even more. It's just like there's no point in rushing, eventually we'll have to go back to the start anyway. When we get scared and tired we can find comfort in knowing life will bring new people and places, new lessons and new feelings. Sometimes great pieces of the past will come back too, in a different way. So don't feel sad when you have to let something go or feel scared when you're unsure. If something is meant to be there then good-bye just means until next time. You are exactly where you need to be.
Acceptance
Sometimes we assign roles to people in our lives without even knowing it and it's so damaging.You be this person, I'll be this person and everything will be perfect. All of us play roles at different times and it's so important to not take these roles too seriously. Having certain standards of bevaviour that we expect from partners and friends is necessary, but we're human. Everyone has so many layers created by our past, our feelings, our thoughts, everything. We need to accept each other and not take ourselves so seriously. When we do this we can stop damaging what we have through judging each other or expecting someone to "meet our needs" by playing a certain role. If we can accept that we are not perfect, that we slip up, sometimes feel angry, maybe do things that offend either intentionally or not then it's completely expected that other people may do the same. It doesn't make bad treatment okay, or mean we need to submit and be powerless, but it allows acceptance of what we can't change and of eachother which is always more effective and more powerful than anger. Then if action is necessary we can decide the best course to take without it being overrun by hurt feelings. It's painful but liberating when you see that you've been fooling yourself. It's just plain painful when we don't see what we're doing and always wonder why our unrealistic needs are unmet or not met for long. No one is perfect, no one can be everything and that's a beautiful thing. It makes us learn to accept each other and ourselves. It teaches patience, perseverence, independence, true compassion and forgiveness.
New Year, New Strength
Just like our bodies need resistance to become stronger, we need challenges to help us grow. Think of all the challenges and experiences that have come and gone over the past year and every other year before. Every experience has had a part in pointing us to where we are now and forming who we are now. Challenges are not there to knock us down, they are there to show us we can deal with things as they come while bringing out the strength that is just waiting to be built upon. Who knows what this year could have in store or where we could be next year. What we can know is that whatever situation comes our way, the person who will be standing at the other end will be us, stronger and more fully alive than we ever were before.
Beautiful Woman
For the girls who can work with the boys, but still appreciate being treated like a girl. The girls who will always feel at home in her sneakers and T but still feel pretty in heels. The girls who appreciate being treated, but wouldn't mind buying their own. The girls who know when to let things go, but won't be walked on. You are the new breed of beautiful, the new breed of woman. The perfect blend of strength and grace, and for the few that question many more will be intrigued and even more will be inspired. You have paved the way for so much. You who are unforgettably, unbreakably, wonderfully beautiful. Thank you.
Unknown
Sometimes we're forced to fend for ourselves. To venture out into the unknown. To not so solidly have that person or thing there to hold our hand through everything. When we let go, whether we're forced or choose to, and stop completely dependng we can find that there's a whole world filled with recources and people to help, guide and teach us. When we don't grip onto things or resent what already is, we have more energy to sort through situations, maybe by ourselves and maybe from the help that will always naturally come if we let it.
Don't Lower Your Standards
You've got high hopes so don't lower your standards. If you've set the bar high for yourself how can you fully get there by reaching low. You don't have to do that and if you're honest with yourself, you don't really want to. Quicker isn't always better, especially when it requires you to sacrifice your integrity or self respect in any way. Reaching a goal should add to you and make you feel more fulfilled, anything that requires you to feel smaller isn't worth it and isn't the right way to choose. Enjoy the whole process, however long you can enjoy it for, then the accomplishing will be an awesome journey where you maintained every ounce of self respect along the way. Your success will be even more fruitful and amazing because it was brought upon by you on your terms and through your lessons. You can then fully enjoy everything with a clear conscience and a smile on your face. |
|
