My life is an occasion. I am rising to it.
With 4th of July here, Suzanne Weyn's quote is a great
reminder for me that my freedom and independence lies in the moment. I
am rising to it. I am rising to it every moment I choose to be mindful, to be present to my gut feeling, my intuition, and then I have the freedom to act on my intuition.
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| Harley, Tommy & me during Thanksgiving last year. |
Last October, I moved from Dallas to Fort Worth to join
households with my wonderful life partner, Tommy, and his two beautiful
children. I love my new life. It has been an exciting and challenging time,
shifting into new modalities, living with a family after an entire adulthood
living solo, and now commuting to Dallas for work during the week. This period has
been a “reset” for me, a time of mindfulness of every move I make, everything I
do and say, every plan I set forth, every direction I give my team at work,
every piece of jewelry I design.
This period of heightened mindfulness and connection has
made me more aware of some of life’s biggest challenges, in particular: how to
be my authentic self in a culture filled with written and unwritten social
contracts. These expectations are the
filters that I have grown up with from family, from friends, in the news and
social media, in magazines, in fashion, in blogs, in the entertainment world, and
even from a simple assumption I make from a look on a stranger’s face. Every single one of us is subject to these
made-up expectations if we allow ourselves to be.
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| Left: Harley, Tommy & me after Harley's performance of High School Musical last year at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth Right: Ethan & Tommy |
My discoveries and adventures
throughout my adult life have led me to recognize what these filters are, and
to shed most of them with a goal of clearly hearing and enthusiastically
embracing my desires for my life. Because
we are social animals, I of course need to learn from others. The people I
spend my time with are people of whom I admire, and who genuinely honor
themselves and their own authenticity.
I tell you all this on the day before July 4th, Independence Day, to remind each of you of your personal independence to listen to your authenticity. I am finding that the more authentic I am, the healthier of a role model I am for everyone around me. The more I am independent of the filters that I have unconsciously let the outside world place upon me, the more present I am to be the incredible human being I was intended to be.
We
are about to have our second annual Feel Beautiful Week. ‘Feel beautiful' has been my personal and professional
mantra for over 12 years now. I am surrounded by
strong, independent women, and each one is beautiful in her own way. Next
week I will share some of these special women with you. I also encourage you to
think about what makes you feel beautiful inside and out.
Feel Beautiful!
Elizabeth
Feel Beautiful!
Elizabeth
