The Brave Dreamer Journey!

Dear Brave Dreamer,

Today I was sitting on the couch, in the same spot for most of the day, creating creating creating some gifts for Christmas..! Its been a verrry busy & beautiful season of life… and has NOT slowed down for my gift giving heart to have time to create some magical gift.. so when today came and there was no plans… I grabbed the opportunity fast!!! The flip side of going into a creative bubble for hours… there comes a time when you stretch… and OUCH!!! My neck and shoulders were ACHING!!! So, earlier this afternoon I went to take a bath! Its been like discovering a secret weapon to a happier life… having baths!!! I do a lot of dancing in my weeks these days… on top of the day to day grind of using my arms for evvverything… and my shoulders feel it hugely so I have been navigating what may work to help nurture my body as it allows me to do so much… HELLO BATH TIME!!! I literally come out feeling like a new woman after an hour in the tub! GRATEFUL for the sweet discovery of this mind and body reset…

ANYWAY!
Wow I get distracted by detail..!
SO… I found myself in the bathtub, resting, relaxing. breathing deeply, judging and picking on… WAIT! How does that all happen together…?! Because… when you’re in the bathtub… there is noooo hiding. The scars are out, the body shape, the skin… allllllll is not hidden anymore. And the brain kicks in..! The judgment of what the world expects that collides with an abstract reality… this body… has NOT lived a ‘normal’, predictable, easy let alone stable lifetime so far..! Its been a journey… a battle… an adventure to embark on with sometimes little understanding met with huge trust and faith that it will somehow pull through… again…and again… and agaiiiiiin…! Yikes!

And you know what… it HAS! I’m so Grateful!

This time of year… being Summer here in Australia, living in a very beautiful beachy holiday destination kind of hometown, naturally… bodies are on display. Its the culture. The norm… but not always the comfortable for every person… let alone a body that carries many scars… its like living in an audio storybook with the volume turned up reeeeeeal loud! And then… theres the social aspect… the seeing family or friends.. people people people… which sometimes can just feel like judgment, opinion… JUDGMENT…! And while I deeply hope this is not your story, Brave Dreamer reading this, I know that is can be a common one..!

BODIES! They really do go through SO much… they feel, see, hear, smell, taste, experience and survive… constantly..! And we can hide… so much… of the evidence… until we cant..! Or… until we don’t feel the need to..!!!

I was chatting with my darling housemate who just happens to be my bestie, the most loyal of friends & real deal badass of life tonight, sharing about my conversation I was having with my body in the bathtub… reflecting on how it was feeling nervous of the judgment to come… while forgetting just how Insanely AMAZING it truly is!!!

In this past year alone… I have gone from experiencing excruciating pain that would hit at any time of the day or night. endured many tests, coped with high levels of stress through life situations, flooding, moving house, grief to name a few, journeyed through the 48th, 49th and 50th surgeries of my 33yrs lifetime, recovered well and still am, I have danced SO many hours of life this year, loved hard, adventured hard, pushed limits, burnt out, recovered again…. and there is still a few weeks of the year left! WOW!!! Body… YOU ROCK!!!!!!!! You see… usually its been my body reminding ME that we need to slow down and be kind and gentle to ourselves.. tonight, in the bathtub while understanding that I was feeling nervous of ‘others opinions’ over my masterpiece of a vessel… gosh did a warrior rise up in me!

Talking to my housemate about it all, she also understands the journey of living in a body with disability being born with Cerebral Palsy herself, she shared with me the familiar understanding of wanting to ‘cover up’ her body in public..! WHAT! So… we chatted it out and got to the conclusion that it was a ‘disabled body’ thing…! She was always feeling ashamed of the lack of control in her body… I was always trying to hide what I thought the world would see as ‘ugly’ to a body standard..!

Beautiful Brave Dreamers… this is NOT an ok reality!!! Though… a great clarity moment..!

Tonight I made a promise to my body… I will strive to always remember to CELEBRATE allllll that it is… alllllll that its done and allllll that it continues to do on the daily!!!! It is a Powerful, Victories, Weak but Strong gift that I get to love and nurture in life… And Grateful I will be for it!

To live vulnerably so to see others set free from the dark and lonely, ‘behind the scenes’ battles they are facing is an urgent mission on my heart..! Its not always comfortable to share or start the conversation that has been hidden… but gosh is it worth it! Even the moment of celebration I had with my housemate tonight on our clarity that led to a ‘we need to be intentional about loving our bodies’ realization.. yep! Worth it!!!

There may be more ‘Bathtub revelation’ to share in the days, weeks, months and years ahead Brave Dreamers… but you know what.. Worth It!!!
There have also been some new opportunities for greater vulnerability and deeper freedom that have popped up in my life that I’m excited to share about more… in the days to come… so watch this space!

Brave Dreamer, Love you well! Please! Embrace it all… both the conventional and the unconventional beauty… it is ALL beautiful!!! YOU are beautiful! For being here, breathing, alive… journey well!!!

Till Next Time…
Be YOU! Stay YOU! Love YOU Brave Dreamer!
xxx

#BraveDreamer #Beauty #AnUnconventionalBeauty