Over the weekend I had the opportunity to do another photo shoot in Atlanta. Since running The Boston Marathon and then flying to California directly after I have felt an overwhelming tiredness and then on Friday night I wake up in the middle of the night sick… This told me I probably shouldn’t do those pictures this time, but I had a friend that was in town from Pennsylvania and from the few years I have been doing this I recognized immediately that she would be perfect to take my place.
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” ~Maya Angelou
With the few years I have been in modeling, it has taught me many good lessons. One of the greatest lessons it has taught is that the camera doesn’t lie. If you feel like sh*t it shows, so being the authentic person plays an awesome roll in this and this friend has a very authentic aura about her. So I hit her up and tell her I would love for her to take my place in this, and in my business mind I was thinking it would be perfect for the Yoga business she is involved in also.
“To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
We get to Atlanta and she is ready to meet the photographer. We drive over to a park in midtown Atlanta for the shoot and it was amazing. I helped her in every way I felt the need to, but honestly she did an amazing job on her own. We shot for probably 2 hours then the 3 of us ladies sat on the ground in the park and just chit chatted for an hour or so…
Listening to these ladies talk about some of the issues they were having in their life was interesting. It was nice to bond with people I felt of the same walk in life I was taking. I don’t feel I am an expert at much of anything but I could give some essential advice I have obtained on what they were speaking of. And it brought joy to me to share some of the strength I had learned from my own experiences. I found myself talking most on value and I harp on this subject so often with my son and other friends.
“If you make friends with yourself, you will never be alone.” ~Maxwell Maltz
In my experience, value is everything! I try to teach my son the true value of life all the time. We take walks in nature and lay on the grass outside to embrace life as it is. I love involving him with the volunteer work I do with handicapped people to see he has so much to be thankful for. I want him to learn the value of life in an easier way than his mother had to. Value I learned at a very young age in a hard way, and even as I got older I still didn’t see that value in my life so clearly until a few different moments that I say completely WOKE me up it!
“The outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to reflect their inner beliefs.”
~ James Allen
So the advice I gave my ladies was this, if someone you are surrounded by can’t add value to your life with just their presence, the best way they can add any value is to get the heck out of your life. You can offer your value to them and if it isn’t accepted don’t try and force it, just motor your way on down the road, it will save some real headache. When I finally followed this rule of thumb I could finally see my road so clearly. That negative BS is toxic to your soul as well as theirs and that is why they are putting that energy off on you….
“Anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you.” ~ David Whyte
Even when I am traveling I encounter people that are totally blown away with the way I speak to them or some of the ways I may react. But honestly my thinking is always this was the way I was raised and I am only showing the compassion they seem to be lacking. But this isn’t something I harp on, I have learned to roll with the punches of life and I have realized not everyone will understand or see the value of life through the same eyes I do.
To end my entry I will say seeing the true value of life is essential and honestly a true gift in my opinion. Once your eyes have been opened and you can see value in every person, every situation, every little thing around you, you experience a freedom…
