My sparkle is alive

I recently attended a 'show' presented by Julie Cross http://www.juliecross.com.au/ and I am so chuffed that I went.

Julie is an inspirational speaker who reminds people to be unapologetically themselves and to be the best version of themselves. She says that 'we don't see things as they are, we see things as we are' and isn't this so true. All our experiences define our responses, shape our beliefs about ourselves and we are easily affected by the world, our environment and what we think the world expects of us. It is really difficult living up to imagined perfection.

So often we are caught up in what others are doing, wanting to mimic them and forgetting who we are in the process. We celebrate their successes and have this opinion that the world expects the same of us. But it doesn't, we need to own our space and relax into who WE are. It's about being fearlessly unique. Julie reminded me of this, she reminded me that only I own my sparkle. We all have sparkle, but no-ones sparkle is identical to anyone else's. It's about finding your sparkle. I believe that to find ones sparkle, one needs to take some time out and find what you love. In saying that, infusing that love into all areas of your life will help that sparkle shine. Life is not perfect, it can be mundane and if I am honest, there are times when I feel I am over it. Julie reminded that finding joy in any situation is a choice. There are going to be times of darkness, sadness and we need to embrace those feelings but they can't define us. Nurture yourself, enjoy yourself and share that sparkle with the world and 'look at the world through a sense of awe.'

It was a timely reminder for me and where I am right now. I have had a tough 18months or so. I am having more good days, less tears and the panic attacks are mostly under control. Julie's message sang into my heart. I promised myself that this year I would nurture myself, find myself again and know that when darkness tries to cover me, when panic strikes, 'I have got this' and it is time to #sparkleup. May the good days be longer stretches and in a world of awesome men and women, I am allowed to see myself as a 'SHERO' (she version of a hero)

Thank you to Julie and all of those who have travelled some of this road with me. I will be talking more about mental illness and the confusion and craziness it brings with it, but also the understanding for others and the comfort from others. More on this another time. Thank you for reading xx