“Everyday is a fashion show, the world is your runway”
“Fashion is not necessarily about labels. It’s not about brands. It’s about something else that comes from within you.” – Ralph Lauren
Marianne Williamson is a spiritual teacher who has written a number of books, providing wisdom on how best we can live our lives. In her book, ‘Tears to Triumph’, she touches upon the suffering one experiences and how healing is a necessity to deal with depression, relational trauma and grief.
“Our civilisation has an immature and neurotic obsession with always trying to be happy. And yet sometimes it is through having cried our tears that we can see our blessings. In the words of Ernest Hemingway, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.” The real question, for anyone who suffers, is whether we want to be one of those who are strengthened by the experience.”
My reflection
I believe in this day in age, it doesn’t require a lot of effort to feel ‘happy’. I personally find it hard to recognise my own suffering given the amount of pressure to work and make a living. If anything, it is the bittersweet nature of my happiness that resonates with everyone else who are also trying hard to be happy. I think this is what makes humanity rather endearing. However, it is good to cry. It is good to be in our own space, so we could address the sadness we suppress rooted in our souls. To achieve balance, I personally share my thoughts and feelings with someone I trust…that in itself is healing.
She goes on to say …
“It’s a psychological art for, mastering the balance between permitting ourselves to honour our suffering and making a simultaneous commitment to surviving the experience. To say, “I know this is a terrible time. But it is not without meaning, and I am committed to finding out what meaning is. I am committed to opening myself to the lessons to be learned here.” And the lesson is always, in some way, the expansion of our capacity to love.
My reflection
Our capacity to love. Our capacity to love our selves, and others. I’d like to think we all have a closed book inside of us enclosed with hardships we avoid to acknowledge. However, once it is opened, and we commit ourselves to finding the meaning behind our suffering thus simultaneously surviving the experience, then this will make us feel stronger. When I go through tough times, I somewhat become more self aware of my thoughts and gain something from the experience.
My drawing of a Flamingo
Oh! Flamingo!
Elegantly poised on one foot
As graceful as a ballerina
The pinkness of your fur
Illuminates
From a distance
As you prance and dance
With the sound of Mother Nature
Tiptoeing with care
Upon the surface
Of your Kingdom.
Oh! Flamingo!
Your sophistication
Is mesmerising
Ballet at it’s finest
A flock of flamingoes
Goes in places
Where paradise
Let’s them rest.
Avery Hill Park
“ Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude.” Maya Angelou
Whatever the weather, it is us whom ultimately have control over our day. Fluctuating moods from happy to sad or to angry, we lose sight of the things we have, and tend to forget our inner potential to live each moment given to us with an attitude of gratitude.
We are like a swarm of busy bees, buzzing mindlessly, thinking of what we SHOULD do and not necessarily thinking about what we WANT to do…at least I do this myself without realising. The beauty of our lives stems from the innate desire to love and to be loved.
If you spent a whole day not spending a single pound, what would you do and who would you spend it with? With limitless amounts of knowledge flooding everywhere, beautiful parks one can stroll in marvelling at the exquisite nature, or even taking the time to draw, sing, paint, or write poetry ..time becomes a relative dimension. And I believe gratitude is necessary to cultivate within the time we have during our lives.
“Although you have nothing with you, you are happy because you are eating with the most wonderful Person.” (Way of God’s Will 1.8)
Overall, be grateful for all the small interactions you have with loved ones or strangers, the smiles exchanged, the skills and talents you are blessed with, the food you eat and the shelter you come home to. And perhaps say a big Thank You to Him. For He has given us so much.
Miranda meanders 