I’ve been doing some thinking (us truth seekers are prone to it!) and it hit me just how blessed I was as a child.
Here’s why.
My Dad inspired me to suck the marrow out of life. To take it by the balls and really go for it. I will never forget the day his great big hand grabbed my tiny fingers and he looked at me and said, “You are ‘I Can Do Anything, Katie’,” and I believed him. In that moment, at the age of 10, I decided I COULD do anything. And, I did.
My Mum inspired me to “Do Unto Others”, to speak well, to appreciate my intellect, to take care of myself and really honour and respect my precious body. And I do.
You see, so much of what I have shared over the years since I founded Daring and Mighty in 2010 has kinda focussed on the tough stuff. The tough lessons I have had to learn, the emotional wounds that needed healing and the growing up that I needed to do. I have shared my stories, warts ‘n all, because I’ve wanted to demonstrate that transformation is available to anyone if they choose it. Some of my ‘stuff’ was pretty significant and once upon a time I didn’t believe it could be turned around. The fact that I discovered a way free of all that was holding me back is what I tend to shout about, because it’s so bloody awesome!
What I haven’t shared is the truth that my Daring & Mighty life began before I embarked on a personal development journey. It started before I had my Spiritual awakening and well before I began to heal my emotional wounds and transform my limiting beliefs and unhelpful patterns of behaviour.
In fact, I have been Daring & Mighty as far back as I can remember and I am so grateful that I was born with such an adventurous Spirit and gifted with parents who encouraged and supported my innate desire to ‘be different’ and to shine. Not least because I now get to mentor women who might not find it as innately natural to express their Spirit and yet who know without doubt that they are meant for more.
This had me pondering the meaning of Self-Love again. I spoke to a colleague. I did some journalling. I meditated.
Here’s what I discovered.
Self-Love is giving yourself permission to take action on your desires.
It means listening to the yearnings of your Spirit and making the decision to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
As a young girl, that looked like me wanting to be different and to stand out – so I auditioned for plays and dance troupe, I competed in Japanese speech competitions, I excelled academically, I worked part-time to afford a school trip to Japan and I purposefully went to a different high-school than my peers. Despite being a very shy, rather worried and anxious child, my Spirit desired to shine and I did. In my own unique way.
In my 20’s, listening to the whispers of my Spirit lead me on adventures around the world. I was driven by travel, creativity, discovery, mischief, glamour, modelling, men, career and good times. I put myself out there. I got amongst it and really lived. Hard!
In my 30’s my adventures moved inward. As I entered true adulthood I encountered the reality of what was required of me to be able to relate healthily to other people. Having a child was my biggest wake-up call and my Spirit urged me to heal emotional, mental and childhood wounds that were preventing me from creating the family I so deeply desired. I moved into a new phase of life where it was no longer all about me. It was about service to a greater purpose and I desired to understand what I was meant for. My Spirit urged me to dig deep, to get to the root of why I was here and how I was to contribute to this world.
Being Daring & Mighty is ALL about loving yourself. It’s about giving yourself permission to take action on your desires because that is the most loving thing you can do for yourself.
Self-Love has taken on very different forms over the span of my life – from cruising the Med. on a super yacht to signing up for intensive group therapy! I turn 40 next week and it’s poignant to look back and see how each decade has had me show up for myself in such different ways.
Our desires change as we evolve through life. I’m excited to see what my forties will bring and I’m committed to listening to my Spirit and taking action on her nudges. It feels good to know that I am consciously available to fully show up for myself now that I really understand what self-love means.
My challenge for you today is to ask yourself, how are you showing up for you? How are you loving yourself and honouring the desires of your Spirit?
I urge you to be Daring & Mighty!
Big Love,
Katie x
