In July of this year as a family we visited the state that I grew up in the capital of Australia, Canberra. It was winter time and Canberra can get very cold. While my eldest children were doing their own thing my husband and I and our eight year old decided to go for a visit to the Art Gallery.
The most memorable moment of that day was walking on the frosted grass outside and seeing this little yellow flower all by itself. I had to take a photo as it reminded me about not forgetting the simple moments in life. Everything that we can take for granted on an average day. It also reminded me of how far I have come as a person. That even through all of the ugliness experienced there are areas within me that have changed that I would never want to give away. Those are the areas involving the heart.
Pain and hurt is never ever pleasant yet somehow it works within us something so much more valuable and everlasting. How we deal with the pain and hurt sets us up either for freedom or bondage. As a child I lived in bondage. Poor self esteem ruled my life every single day. The more I rehearsed the negative thoughts that were playing in my head the more I believed them which inevitably was reflected to others with my body language.
Everything within me desired to be free!!!!
I envied others who were comfortable with being themselves. It would not take much to trigger me into a corner of self defeat and hopelessness. Every negative remark spoken about me at school for instance would be welcomed in without a second thought. I truly believed that I was worth nothing and everyone hated me however, the hate that I felt was actually my own hate towards myself. We are all potential targets for insults and sometimes kids in school say things that are mean and wrong.
We can not control peoples behavior but we certainly have the ability to do a check up of our own hearts and deal with the hurt and pain in a healthy way that will benefit in the long term. When we don’t deal with issues of the heart the clutter just keeps growing and before you know it you are not the person you were created to be.
This is actually my very first post on my own blog page. No clue as to how this really works, however, I decided that it was time to write about the areas that I am really passionate about. My goal or purpose is to support and encourage everyday individuals who are struggling with poor self image or anything midlife related that may be causing havoc in their life and relationships. Having walked through both of these areas of turmoil it seems only right to share my experiences with anyone who is willing to listen and in need of someone they can relate to who understands what they are going through.
For the past three years I have been studying for a Bachelor in Psychology (part-time) and have been writing a book for girls of all ages. The book is all about my struggles and triumphs with low self esteem.
Blogging came about as I felt the need to start sharing snippets of truth and support now and not only when I have accomplished gaining a bachelor or have published a book.
While this struggle for me was decades ago no doubt those same struggles are experienced by many right now! Perhaps the opportunities are more frequent today. When I was growing up there was no internet.
In today’s world there are many avenues that can bombard young girls with wrong impressions of what it is to be Beautiful. Social Media profiles of young girls today only highlight the wrong impressions presented which can lead young girls into selling themselves so short in their true value as a person.
Beauty is all about the status and health of your heart. When your heart is restored and whole it reflects true beauty on the outside which is of far more worth than anything superficial. When you are broken and hurting it will always surface at some point. No amount of makeup, clothes or anything else you desperately rely on to feel beautiful is going to make the pain in your heart go away. It has to be dealt with from the inside first.
The heart is the foundation of a person, if the heart is hurting and broken then it is time to spend more energy and effort there rather than on anything external. Quick fixes do not last but when you get the foundation right then everything else will fall into place so much better.
Yours Sincerely, Anu Mari
