Resilience, Strength & Choices

I'm fortunate enough to share in so many wonderful women's stories. I hear tales of celebration and joy, just as often as the tales of loss and grief; but for a few hours in my wee studio, tears will turn to smiles, which often turn to laughter and ... a certain magic starts to happen. And it's not down anything I do, it's about an experience. It's about seeing yourself in a different light, the way someone else sees you, with your natural beauty on full display and the colour in your skin glowing and your eyes sparkling. Your reflection is powerful. The moment a woman really SEES herself can cause an internal chain reaction. It ignites something. I've witnessed it many times and it has lead me to share something personal ...

I had a deep conversation not so long, about myself and the twists my life has taken over the past few years. The words that left my mouth during that conversation were filled with loss and grief and hurt, but despite that, I was mindful of the gratitude I still felt as I said them. In that moment, I felt amazed at how resilient I was, despite how broken. And it inspired me.

Later that day as I started to strip my makeup away in front of the mirror, I looked at myself. I mean front on, bare skin, in the mirror - not something I would recommend when you've had a day of tears and deep and meaningfuls - but y'know what, I had that moment. My reflection ignited something in me. Not because I looked beautiful, in fact, pretty much the opposite. It was because though my face was puffy through tears and blotchy and drained, I could still see the light in my eyes and the joy in my face ... and I thought about my strength and my resilience and how actually, it has been a choice.

To get up every day and get your shit together is a conscious decision. Despite what might be going on in your life, deciding to keep moving forward is a choice. YOUR CHOICE. And I love that I'm capable of making that choice and that the women that I encounter, make that choice, sometimes literally right in front of me.

I hope this resonates. I hope it's a reminder to y'all that you're capable too.