Category: Me

Embrace

Yvette # #

Hi Lovelies,

I recently saw the incredible and life-changing documentary ‘Embrace’.  It was so brilliant and gut wrenching that I bawled my eyes out through most of it because it hit home so strongly.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here is the trailer:

This film should be seen by everyone, especially by women and I ask all Mum’s out there, please take your daughters.  You won’t regret it.

You see the distortion of body image and how negatively most of us view ourselves has reached truly disturbing proportions.  The percentage of people, especially women, who dislike their bodies and / or the way they look in general is incredibly sad and society has a lot to answer for when it comes to the projection of an unrealistic and unattainable ‘perfection’ that we can’t avoid.  That is unless of course we crawl under a rock and stay there.

It’s everywhere.  Images of so-called ‘beauty’ that are not real.  It’s been said before and I’ll repeat it now.  Not even the models in the images look like the models in the images.  They’ve been stretched and slimmed and primped and smoothed.  Eyes are made larger; teeth are whitened; breasts are enlarged and cheek bones are raised.  Even Men’s biceps and other body parts I won’t mention are exaggerated and chiselled.  No one actually looks like the pictures we are surrounded by and although we all know that photoshop is the culprit, the visual  assimilation of these images are what we are absorbing, whether that be subconsciously or consciously.

The beauty and fashion industries are worth billions of dollars and are sold to us in the seeking of perfection.  A perfection that doesn’t actually exist and largely lowers the vibration of society as a whole by making people feel they are ‘less than’.

It’s sad and it’s time we all took responsibility for what is going on, not only for ourselves but for the children growing up in this world of false imagery.

We owe it to ourselves and others to stop the nonsense and start spreading the message that ‘you are enough’ as you are.  People come in all shapes and sizes and that should be celebrated.  It’s what makes each and every one of us unique and special.  We are who we are because of everything we have experienced in our lives and none of us should feel like we’d be happier or better off if only we had bigger boobs or lost 5 kilos or got botox to smooth our skin.  It’s bullshit and it’s time to change the dialogue we allow to come out of our own mouths and the mouths of others.

It starts with you.  Watch your thoughts.  Watch what you allow to come out of your mouth.  Watch what you allow to be said by those you care about.  Pull yourself up.  Pull your loved ones up.  It’s time to pull society up on this craziness.

As someone who has been in the fashion and beauty industries for 26 years, I know full well the effects this falseness has had on not only myself but on others around me.  Eating disorders are rife and people are unhappy in their own skin, which has a ripple effect on their whole life.  I’ve been conditioned to ‘talk the talk’ and ‘walk the walk’ and have been criticising my own self for way too long.  I’ve also criticised others’ bodies and appearances and I’m ashamed of that.  Very ashamed.

I’ve done a lot of work over the years to change this but I have to say, seeing this film has been one of the biggest game changers for me.  Truly.  Madly.  Deeply.

This film helped me to embrace myself, jiggly thighs and all and I want nothing more than each and every one of you to feel the same way about yourselves, so make sure you see it!  It will be one of the most valuable documentaries you will ever see.

I believe it’s creator, Taryn Brumfitt, is an Angel in disguise.

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Have you seen it?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

 

Categories: Films, Health, MeLeave a comment

The Fear Foe

Yvette #

Hi Lovelies,

Something happened to me last month that provided me with a huge opportunity for growth and I wanted to share my observations with you.

Without going in to detail, I found myself in a situation that was totally out of my control and affected my life greatly.   I had 2 choices.  I could choose the victim mentality and wallow in the fear associated with finding myself in a new and unexpected situation or I could trust it was all for the best and believe the universe had my back.

When it happened, I felt like someone pulled the ground out from under me and the fear began suffocating me.  I had to fight like crazy to keep my head above water so to speak.  It’s times like these you realise its all up to you.  How you deal with what life throws at you has a ripple effect which can make or break your future.

It was time to practice what I always preach and be gentle with myself.  I had to think about all of the things that make me feel really good and do them, so that I could stay strong and beat the fear foe.

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Fear is such a huge part of most of our lives.  It’s what stops us from doing things we really want to do.  It stops us from being the best version of ourselves.  It stops us from living the life we imagine.  It drives us to make bad decisions and stops us in our tracks sometimes.

It leads us to attract situations into our lives that we don’t want because the focus is on the negative rather than the positive.

Having worked really hard on beating fear in the past (and succeeding), it was concerning to me to be really feeling it again.  I mean really feeling it.  I wasn’t doing myself or anyone around me any favours but I had to sit with it and feel it before I could fight it.  I had to acknowledge what was going on in order to get past it.

One of the most important parts of my lifestyle is exercise, so I took myself outside as often as I could and moved my body.  I walked and I ran and I walked and I ran and I focussed on replacing the fear thoughts with positive chants.  My mind kept returning to the fear but I just had to keep bringing it back to my chant and with each day, the fear thoughts began to disappear.  I replaced them with thoughts of trust and understanding.  I had to believe there was a bigger picture at play.  If you believe it, it will be true for you.

I also saw the situation as an opportunity to not only be kind to myself but also to be kind to others.  I put myself in the shoes of each person involved and asked myself what I would like from the situation if the shoe was on the other foot and did those things.

I understood that everyone is on this earth doing the same thing.  We are all trying to look after ourselves and sometimes that means things not going your way.  At least that’s what it may appear to look like on the surface.  But then I realised, sometimes not getting what you want is a blessing in disguise. If you have faith and surrender to the situation, it certainly can be.

The best way to move forward from it all is to face your fears head on.  If you have thoughts going over and over in your head, get them out.  Say everything you need to say.  As hard as that can be sometimes, it is the only way to stop them from destroying your sense of being and allowing you to move forward with what ‘is’.

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Difficulties are opportunities.  Without them, we can’t grow.  To get comfortable, you must first be uncomfortable, so embrace challenges.  I do.

Now what happened doesn’t hurt me anymore.  It showed me I have great strength and for that, how could I be anything but grateful?

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

 

 

Categories: Me, Words that inspireLeave a comment

Outside in

Yvette #

Hi Lovelies,

This week, my cousin nominated me for the Facebook 5 day 15 + years photo challenge, so I accepted and took myself on a trip down memory lane.  In sharing some of my old modelling photos, I was overwhelmed by the lovely comments from everyone and I must admit, they made me feel better during what was a difficult week.

Despite the virtual hug my ego received, the comments highlighted something I feel very strongly about and that is how invisible mental illness is.  At the time every single one of the photos I shared was taken, I was struggling with a very serious eating disorder and had been for many years.  Although the photos show what appears to be a glamorous life, on the inside I was literally killing myself.  Considering what I was doing, I’m lucky to still be here today.

I suffered from Bulimarexia, which is a combination of both Bulimia and Anorexia.  Sufferers swing between bouts of starvation and binge / purge cycles by means of self induced vomiting and or laxative abuse (or both).  I was doing both.  I would purge up to six times a day and then I’d take laxatives at night.  The number on the scale was more important to me than anything and my body dysmorphia was rife.  I had no idea what I looked like.

Even though I worked constantly as an underwear model throughout my career, I loathed my body.  When I looked in the mirror, what I saw was fat.  When my agents or clients (or anyone for that matter) told me I had a great body, a voice inside my head said “no I don’t, I’m fat”.  When I looked in the mirror, all I saw was that I was too big.  When I was told I was too thin, I thought whoever was saying it was nuts.  It was crazy but it was my truth.

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Eating disorders are everywhere.  The more I’ve spoken about my own experience, the more people have opened up to me about theirs.  I can’t tell you how many people I know who have suffered, or are still suffering, but it’s a lot.  Unfortunately, with the increased exposure to media, especially social media, statistics show the prevalence of eating disorders is growing relatively at an alarming rate.  It’s scary.

It took me a very long time to reach a place of authentic health and although I’m pretty much there now, it’s still something I have to work at constantly.  As most people who have suffered will tell you, it never really goes away completely.  It just becomes easier to manage as you get stronger and better at talking back to the voice inside your head that is basically an inner bully.  It’s a fight you have to keep fighting because unlike giving up smoking or drugs, you can’t give up eating and lets face it, who would want to?!

It pains me to know how may people out there are going through what I went through.  It’s an absolutely insidious disease and because sufferers often look ‘healthy’ on the outside, they usually suffer in silence or in secret.  There is not always visibility of there being something wrong.

It also becomes a part of your ‘identity’ and a coping mechanism for life.  The irony however is that a sufferer is clearly not coping at all.  It is a form of control when a life feels out of control.

I always felt there had to be a reason for my journey though.  It had to make sense somehow and thankfully, now it makes absolute sense.  My reason, my purpose, is to help others going though their own struggle.  As I’ve said before, we are all here to help each other get through this maze of life, no matter what it throws at us.  We’re not meant to go it alone.

Just over 3 years ago, I decided to write a book about my story and in doing so, came to understand myself and how it all came about very clearly.  When it all came down to it, it made so much sense it was uncanny.  My book is currently with my editor, so it’s coming along nicely.  I can’t wait to share it with you all when it’s finally ready and in doing so, hope to help millions of people around the world.  That’s my dream and I’m dreaming big.

Until next time.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

Categories: Health, Me2 Comments

You get what you give

Yvette # #

Hi Lovelies,

All my life I’ve heard the term “You get what you give”.  I’m sure we all have.  The thing is though, until the other night, I have always thought the saying was in reference to what we give out or purely about what we give to others.  It had always been my belief that’s what it meant.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Now some might say this makes me a slow learner but on the night in question, I was reflecting on how great things had been for me lately, which was in line with how much better I had been treating myself.  Suddenly it hit me.  “You get what you give” also pertains to what you give to your self.  Lightbulb moment!

I’m not talking about buying yourself gifts or acting in a selfish manner to get what you want out of life, that’s not what I mean at all.  What I am trying to say is the more you treat yourself with genuine respect, love and care, the more life seems to have a way of treating you in the same manner.  The ripple effect is extraordinary once you open yourself up to living your life in a parallel universe.  One in which you behave in a way that is a gift to yourself.

It’s not always easy to maintain this way of being, particularly if it’s vastly different to how you’ve treated yourself in the past.  Life has a way of testing you when things are going fabulously.  Just when you think things are perfect, BOOM!  There it is. Something to shake your soul to ensure the groundwork you’ve been putting in is based on a foundation of truth and strength.  Life’s funny like that.

To be good to yourself takes work.  Consistent, self aware, no bullshit, hard work.  It starts with a decision and from that point on, there’s no denying how much effort is required to bring about real, positive, life changing results.  But it does get easier.  And then, after a while, it becomes second nature.  Well almost.  You still need to stay ‘with’ yourself as much as you can.

Looking back on the things I’ve needed to change over the years, I can totally see how I’ve gotten what I’ve given to myself.  My life was a reflection of what was going on in my head and the self sabotaging patterns I manifested simply validated what  I believed about myself.  Instead of giving myself the love I deserved, I gave myself nothing but grief every step of the way and in return, my life gave me grief.

That’s all changed now.  It has taken a long time and a great deal of patience with myself to get me here but I’m in a very different place now and it feels amazing.

It’s funny isn’t it.  We’re always so great at giving others advice but when it comes to ourselves, we can be so judgey wudgey and downright awful.  It doesn’t make any sense and it’s time to stop.  It’s not our place to judge others and it’s not our place to judge ourselves.  It’s our job to show ourselves (and others) as much love, patience, kindness and nourishment as we can.  Give yourself everything you would want for your favourite person in the universe and you’ll find that life surprises you in kind.  Its quite incredible to observe!

A lot of it comes down to letting go and trusting in the order of things.  It’s a lot easier said than done but once you do, there’s no going back.

It’s important to give to others but make sure you’re giving to yourself first.  Then you’ll have a lot more to give.

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Wishing you magic every day.

Until next time.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

Categories: Lessons, MeLeave a comment

Into the groove

Yvette

Hi Lovelies,

I am sure you’ll agree that one of our biggest challenges in life is actually being present or mindful as often as we can.  To be honest, I don’t really know if anyone can be all of the time.  Well except for perhaps the Dalai Lama.

For me it’s something that I have been good at sometimes over the years, while at others, I am absolutely crap at it.  And when I say crap, I am talking about the repetition of behaviour that I KNOW will make me feel bad about myself but instead of steering away from those bad choices, I’ve found myself going ahead and mindlessly making them anyway because I don’t have the strength / willpower / discipline (whatever you want to call it) to do otherwise.  The aftermath (because there’s no other way to describe it) is a really shitty state of mind, as I literally hammer myself for doing it.  And then I do it again.  Stupid right?!

They say that madness is repeating the same behaviour, expecting different results.  Ain’t that the truth.

Lately those choices that I am referring to are all about how I fuel my body.  I have tried and tested all sorts of dietary changes (delete this / add that) and I have no doubts about what works best for me.  I know that’s different for all of us; what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.  So if I know what makes me feel best in my body, mind and soul, why don’t I just choose the right things all of the time?

If only it were that simple.

Actually it is.  It’s as easy as a decision.

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Recently something happened that triggered a change for me.  I was expressing how terrible I was feeling about what I’d eaten the night before when my darling hubby said “Stop being mean to my wife please!”  Having been an advocate for taking responsibility for oneself and being your own best friend, I realised that I had been quite the opposite for some time.  A walking contradiction so to speak.  But that’s ok because I feel like I’ve finally learnt the lesson once and for all and although it is fresh, I know I’m not going to look back.

Ever since then, every single choice that I have made about what goes in to my body has been a mindful one. I choose life and health instead of death or disease.  It’s as simple as that.

And although I have spent as long as I can remember trying to be smaller than I am, it’s not about that for me anymore.  Sure, I understand that by making the choices that I am making, the extra weight that I was carrying will drop off – and it is – but it’s not about how I look.  It’s about how I feel.

It’s about taking responsibility for my mental health and choosing to feel great instead of shitty.

I feel better when I nourish my body with the right foods.

I feel better when I really listen to what my body wants and if you are still enough to hear it, you will know what that is for you too.

The bonus is that this time,  I won’t wish that I was smaller for the first time in my life because I will finally appreciate my body for what it does and how it feels rather than for what it looks like.  For someone that has struggled with body image all of my life, I am already feeling the freedom this brings.

I get it.  I have needed to sit with my bad decisions and the consequences that came from making them for some time.   Now, I can really appreciate my new state of mind and my healthy body for what it is.

I know that I can choose ‘Happy’ or ‘Crappy’ everyday and I choose ‘Happy’.

I got my groove back and that’s a beautiful thing.

Until next time.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

 

Categories: Health, Lessons, MeLeave a comment

F*#k ups r us

Yvette # #

Hi Lovelies,

*Language warning.

You know what?  A long time ago I used to be so hell bent on trying to be perfect that I couldn’t ever admit it when I’d fucked up and the result was crap.  I was only existing.  You couldn’t call that living.  You see, living means that you’re in the moment and you’re connecting with others and that’s just down right impossible when you’re totally caught up in your own head and feel the need to make excuses for this, that and everything else.  It was a shitty way to exist and I wasn’t fooling anyone.  Especially not myself.

It all started when I was a little girl.  A combination of family dynamics and certain events led to me labelling myself subliminally as ‘the good one’.  I learned that if I did well or behaved perfectly, I got the attention I wanted.  It stuck and kind of became who I was.  I tried to be perfect in every way and that led to all sorts of problems, including an eating disorder that I struggled with for a very long time.

One day, that all changed.  Thank fuck for that!

I can’t remember what I did but I do remember how good it felt to admit that I’d made a mistake and genuinely apologise for it.  It was liberating, healing and nourishing to the soul.  It felt good.  Really good.    In fact, it felt so good that I stopped being the person I was and began the journey towards being the person I am now.  I still make loads of mistakes (don’t we all?) but the difference is, now I’m present enough most of the time to pull myself up and give myself a talking to.  A slap on the hand if you will.  I’m much happier being that person.

Ever since then, I’ve become much more of an observer and it’s really interesting watching someone try and keep up their facade because they just don’t have it in them to say that they messed up or apologise.  I know who’s shoes I’d rather be in.

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But, the thing is, when you can’t admit to fault, it doesn’t leave you.  It sticks around like a bad smell and won’t let you move on, unless you’re a psychopath that has no compassion or concern for others.  I guess there are loads of people out there like that.  But, for those of us with a conscience, there’s no faster way to liberate yourself than to say “Oops!  Sorry.  I fucked up”.

It’s how we learn, so in reality, its AWESOME to fuck up!  Isn’t it?!  Sometimes it takes us a while to finally get the message and sometimes we get it at lightening speed.  Either way, it doesn’t matter.  Our journey is ours and ours alone and our mistakes are all ours as well.  Our mistakes teach us what not to do and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.  In fact, it’s all good!

So take ownership of your fuck ups.  Let that shit be liberating rather than suffocating.  The more you do, the more freedom you have to move forward on to the next thing and the next.  It stops you from staying stuck in a really shitty place that isn’t any fun at all.  Trust me, I know.  I was in that place for a long time and the best thing I ever did was acknowledge it.

I see people stuck there and I just want to say “Come on!  You don’t have to be perfect.  Nobody is, so take note of what you did or said and laugh about it.  Leave that shit in the past.”

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So celebrate your fuck ups!  They are awesome.  And so are you.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

 

 

Categories: Me, Words that inspire1 Comment

I Am Worthy

Yvette #

Hi Lovelies,

Even though it happens a lot, I still feel like magic is manifesting around me when it does and it happens almost daily.  It is so bazaar.  What am I talking about?  My verifications.

The other day, I was running around the beautiful Lake Monger, when as per usual, I was lost in my thoughts.  I got to thinking about how it has come to my attention that so many of my own issues in the past and those of others that have been shared with me, always seem to come down to a lack of belief in one’s self worth.

As I was having this thought, a young anorexic girl that I see a lot, rode past me and she became my sign that I was on the right track and needed to write about it.

The girl that I am talking about is someone that I have been seeing at the lake since I started writing my book nearly three years ago.  Just as I was experiencing writers block or fear issues, she would ride past me and remind me of why I was writing it in the first place; to help people exactly like her.

So many times I have wanted to talk to her and tell her how she is loved more than she knows, even by a complete stranger and how she has helped me without even having a clue how.  I wish I knew her name so  I could call it out and get her attention, because she is always riding so fast and gone before I can.  Still, I believe I will get to speak with her one of these days and I look forward to that.  In the mean time, I could not be happier that she is still alive.

The serendipitous appearance of my little friend was so symbolic.  As a former long time sufferer of bulimarexia and subsequent addictive behaviours, I now know it all stemmed from my lack of self worth.  That very deep and subconscious belief has come up repeatedly during my kinesiology sessions and is something I have been working very hard to reverse.

As my awareness of this has come to the fore, I have observed it in many others around me.  I see that self destructive behaviours all stem from this very same thing.  It contributes to all sorts of issues including addiction, toxic relationships, and self sabotage patterns however it’s not something most people are in any way conscious of.

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Since January 1st this year, I have made a very concerted effort to repeat the words ‘I am worthy’ to myself every single day.  ‘I am worthy of a fit, healthy body’.  ‘I am worthy of healthy relationships’.  ‘I am worthy of all of the wonderful things that life has to offer’.  ‘I am worthy of financial freedom’ and the list goes on.  Since I have been doing this, a great many wonderful things have happened.

You have to keep repeating it until you really believe it with every inch of your soul.  A lifetime of subconscious thought patterns can’t be reversed overnight, but with constant effort, they can be changed and the ripple effect in your life will surprise you, like magic.

Each and every one of us is worthy.  We are worthy of being here.  We are worthy of love.  We are worthy of living happy and authentic lives.  We are worthy of truly feeling our worth.

If there is something in your life that you feel is holding you back, try repeating variations of your worthiness to yourself every single day and watch what happens.

You are worth it.

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

Categories: Me, Words that inspireLeave a comment

The Nose Knows

Yvette # # #

Hi Lovelies,

It comes down to the old clichés.  You don’t know what you have until it’s gone and You don’t know what you’ve been missing until you have it.  I’m sure we can all relate to both.  I certainly can!

In June 2010 I was working on a shoot for Crown Resort and our base camp for the day was Eve nightclub.  As we walked in, the whole crew exclaimed at how the room smelled of stale booze and cigarettes.  Having done countless rehearsals for fashion parades in closed nightclubs back in my modelling days, I knew what they were experiencing but on that particular day, I had nothing.  Sniffing the air like a crazy person to get a whiff of it, I realised that I couldn’t smell a thing.

I know there are some obvious benefits to not being able to smell because if you can’t smell the good, you can’t smell the bad either.  But…as someone who had an acute sense of smell (and taste) up until that time, I was absolutely gutted.  I used to tell everyone what perfume they were wearing and loved the fact that I always had a ‘nose that knows’.  I hoped it was temporary but days later, I still had nothing.  Food wasn’t tasting as it should either (taste is 70-75% smell).  Boooooooooo!!!!!  It was time for me to go the doctor.

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My doctor didn’t have an answer for me, so she sent me to an ear, nose and throat specialist.  I had to wait a while before I could get in for an appointment and hoped I might get it back in that time, but no such luck.  They discovered that I had a couple of polyps but where they came from is impossible to diagnose.  They’re caused by a number of different factors, including allergies, so the ENT sent me to an allergy specialist.

It turns out that I’m allergic to dust mites, grass pollen and cats.  I always knew I was allergic to cats but I wasn’t aware of the other two and they’re kind of everywhere.

What next then?  It was suggested that I undergo a process known as desensitization, whereby they inject what you are allergic to every week in order to try and reduce the body’s reaction to it.  The allergy specialist thought it was very possible that both the polyps and my lack of smell were caused by my allergies, which made sense, so I agreed to give it a go.  It wouldn’t be cheap but getting my smell back would be worth it.  I was also prescribed a steroid nasal spray and a sinus cleanser.

Thinking I should cover all of my bases, I went to a naturopath as well.  They told me I had a bacterial infection on my trachea and prescribed bucketloads of herbal medicines.  I took them for the three months that I was told to but that didn’t work either.

Fast forward 18 months of needles and further testing and….. zip.  Frustrating?  Yes.  It had to be something else.  We even tried taking alternative anti inflammatory medication for my headaches (caused by neck and shoulder tension from my work as a makeup and hair artist) because apparently ibuprofen can affect the olfactory system.  Did that work?  Nope.

I then began educating myself further on nutrition and healing the body through nourishment rather than medicine.  I’m a big believer in what we consume contributing towards our health in every sense of the word and the results speak for themselves.

I tried removing gluten and dairy.  I tried not drinking alcohol at all.  I tried reducing sugar.  I tried not having chilli.  I tried everything.  I got small results here and there but nothing was consistent.

Then, I noticed when I went running, I could smell for snippets of time.  It felt so good to get a little bit of a whiff of the trees back in to my life!  I even appreciated being able to smell a stinky bin for a minute or two.  Then it went again.  It would come and go at lightening speed with no reason or rhyme.

Stink Out LogoBut….this week, after years of trying this and trying that, I have been able to smell consistently for 7 days in a row.  Its the most I’ve been able to smell since it disappeared and I can’t tell you how happy I am!  And everything tastes amazing too!!!!!

So, what I am I doing?  I am exercising 6 days a week.  I only have a drink of alcohol on the weekends.  I stopped drinking coffee (except maybe once every 6-8 weeks).  I have green tea with lemon juice first thing every morning.  I only have a teeny, tiny bit of gluten or dairy if I’m eating out, but never at home.  I don’t have any sweets, except for maybe once a week at most.  I rarely eat anything that’s processed.  I’m having sole every second day (you can look that one up) to make sure I’m getting all of the salt and minerals that my body needs and I’m telling myself that I can smell on a daily basis.  I don’t believe that it’s any one of these things working on their own; it’s a combination of all of them and after five and a half years of searching, I’ve finally found the recipe for me.  Yay!

Here’s to discovering what works for our own bodies and never giving up hope!  Healing through nutrition should never be underestimated.  Love your body!

Until next time…

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

 

Categories: Health, MeLeave a comment

Metanoia

Yvette # # # #

Hi Lovelies,

It happened again.  Like many times before, I’ve been wondering what to write about this week but I always trust that the universe will show me and I’ll know what it is when it happens.  And it did.  Again.

One of my favourite ways to pass the time when I’m having a day off is to scroll through inspirational posts and feed my soul.  I know it’s my responsibility to keep myself happy and healthy and this little activity is good for me because it reminds me of all of the wonder and joy in life, especially at times like the past week, when our news feeds, papers and broadcasts have been so full of the fear and negativity in the world.  It’s nice to see some positivity at times like this.

Now I know that what I’ve seen happening in the world is scary, there’s no question about that, but what I am also seeing is a banding together of humans that just won’t stand for it.  A message of love and acceptance is shining through as humanity refuses to let the hate win over the love.

make-love-boards

There has been a flood of kind, wise and open hearted humans choosing to educate and spread the message of unity rather than letting the fear mongers succeed in the separation of us as beings.  We are all connected after all.

Another reason that I love doing the ‘happiness scroll’ is because I often come across sayings and words that I have never seen or heard of before and words are what we all use to communicate.  We use them to say how we feel and we use them to fulfil our every need and desire in life.

So what did I come across this morning?  This little beauty:

metanoia

It is an ancient greek word that basically translates to an acceptance and understanding of one’s sense of self not being the best possible version and making the choice to become that.  It is the seeking of growth in spirit and self and profound transformation.  What a beautiful word.

It resonates so much with me because like many people, my journey has been one of vast change, particularly in the last five years.  It resonates with me because I believe more than anything in this world, that we are all here to help one another get through life and that to change the world, we must first change ourselves.

So much in my life has changed for the better but it had to start from me.  As Anais Nin said “We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are”.  Aint that the truth!

I see so many people afraid of change but in reality, the only guarantee in this life is change.  It must be embraced.  A major source of stress in life is the fight against change.  Relationships fail because of it.  People get sick because of it.  Things fall apart when it is ignored and adjustments are not made to flow with it.

I have learned that embracing, instigating and choosing change is the best thing that I ever did.  I not only accept it, I love it with every inch of my being and don’t ever want it to stop.  I believe that my change can help others bring it about in themselves in a positive and soul nourishing way, so I’m not afraid of bearing my soul to do that.  Being ourselves and not proclaiming to be anything else but who we truly are is the best thing we can do, not only for ourselves but for others.

The truth will set you free.  It may be a cliché but it’s the truth.

See what I did there?   

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

 

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Mirror Mirror

Yvette # #

Hi Lovelies,

Something, or should I say someone incredible happened this week.

So many people have been talking about her; loads have jumped on board and mimicked her page (but they’re all fakers because the real one is gone);   I’ve seen more blog posts about this young lady than I’ve seen about anyone in a long time; and it’s been shared more often than I could count.  This girl resonated with a LOT of people.  Including myself.

Who am I talking about?  Essena O’Neil.  The amazing 19 year old girl from Queensland who held a mirror up to us all and made us think.  I know she made me think.

black-mirror

In case you don’t know what or who I’m talking about  –  and yay for you if you don’t because that means you haven’t been on social media as much as I have!  –   Essena was a huge social media star.  She made a LOT of money by posting for product endorsements and had a ridiculous amount of fans.  Her life looked perfect.  What she wore looked perfect.  She looked perfect.

But then she called ‘Bullshit’ on it all.  She told it how it is.  You’ve probably seen the blogs or news stories, so I am not going to bore you with details that you already know and if you haven’t,  you can look it up for yourself if you want to know more.

Now I don’t mean to jump on the band wagon.  That’s not what this is about.   What I want to say is:  Thank you!!!  Thank you for your honesty.  Thank you for sharing your truth and Thank you for giving others permission to share theirs as a result.

Why I am I grateful?  Because Essena made me take a really good look at myself.  I am 100% guilty of doing what she pulled herself up on, time and time again.  I am guilty of spending way too much time on social media.  I am guilty of checking if I have ‘likes’ way too often.  I am guilty of posting photos that took way too many shots to get right in the subconscious (or semi conscious) hope of receiving validation from people holding on to their instruments of communication and addiction.  I am guilty.  And this made me think some more.

It made me realise how much we love the truth.  If we didn’t, then why has Essena caused such a ripple this week?  Why does she have even more fans than she ever did, now that she is telling it like it is?

It’s plain to see that we fall for the fake and the pretend.  But why?  Is it a visual thing?   Or are we subconsciously masochistic and looking for an excuse to feel bad about ourselves by comparing ourselves to others?  If that is the case, why are we punishing ourselves?  Because we don’t love ourselves enough?  I think so.

Why also are we posting so much stuff to gain the approval of others?  Why do we care what others think?  Why does it matter how many ‘likes’ we get or don’t get ?  Aren’t we enough as we are?

As I said before, I have been guilty of it myself.  I have wanted people to tell me that I looked great.  I have wanted people to think that my life is perfect.  But you know what?  I have worked really hard at letting this go.  I have seen myself disappear into the abyss of what doesn’t matter and I have fought my way back to the surface where I can breathe.  Now, what matters to me is how I can help people.  What matters to me is how my truth can give you permission to speak and feel yours.  What matters to me is that you really love yourself  because wherever you go, there you are.  That is your truth.

Be honest.  Be brave.  Be okay with working on how you feel about yourself as a human and being proud of who that person is.  You’ve come a long way and your individuality is your power.  You don’t need approval from others.  You need approval from your self.   And that is all.

 

Love & Light Always,

Yvette xxx

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