“Be” The Change – Capturing Grace

When I first came across this quote by Gandhi, it made an instant impression. It literally stopped me in my tracks.  I bought a cheesy little magnet in a spiritual shop and stuck it on my bulletin board. It was the first thing I saw at night and again, when I woke up in the morning. Most of us are so caught up in all the “doing” in the world, that we forget to just “be.” And, the truth is that our “beingness” is where we find our true selves.

In my new life as a Fashion/Lifestyle Blogger, it’s become my mission to truly “BE” that change. I live by the motto that “Fashion is my medium. It’s not my message.” Fashion is a fabulous and powerful medium. It’s what lights my fire and literally saved my life. Yet touching others with my message is my true passion. My message is all about empowering others and helping them connect to the true beauty and power within.  It’s about learning to believe in yourself, no matter what the external reality looks like to you. It’s about learning to become so solid in your beliefs about yourself and no longer allowing others to define you. It’s all about connection to an inner world while becoming mindful of our personal energy and attitude. Absolutely everything is energy. People don’t really see you, but rather feel you.  Learning to be conscious of the energy and attitude you bring to each day is more important than anything. If you want to change your life, begin with changing your energy by clearing your internal world.

Entering the world of social media last fall was quite an eye opener. Given that I grew up in the days of  black and white television, Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners, and long before computers and cell phones, I was more than a little intimidated. I jumped in, created a page and began posting. Keep in mind, I had to have my adult children give me a quick lesson in uploading pictures and adding captions. I was more than a little bit clueless, and gave my children a lot of comic material. I was very unsure of myself at the get go and had a lot of uncertainty. My daughter starting taking some pictures on her iphone. Let’s just say I wasn’t the most confident model. Actually, I wasn’t a model at all. Slowly, I began coming more and more into myself, finding my way and my own sense of style. I had always had a deep love of fashion yet watched my style take a new turn as my confidence grew. Over time, I began to blossom, looking forward to the shoots and finding new ways to stretch myself and my creativity. It’s been an interesting process of self discovery and transformation.

At a business meeting recently, we were talking and I shared this quote as well as it’s deeper meaning to me. When I started out, I reached out to many other bloggers for guidance, rarely receiving a response from anyone. It’s not an easy world to break into and I needed some help. I needed a mentor, someone to help light the way. I didn’t succeed in finding a mentor in the blogging world, so I decided to become one for others as I have in the Lyme community. To me, if you can’t find what you need in the world, then BE THAT. I decided that I needed to be that change. I needed to be that light for others. I’m asked quite often why I promote other bloggers on my page. It’s an easy question to answer…because that’s who I AM. It’s naturally a part of my DNA, helping others. Connection, relationships, that means everything to me. We are, in the end, all connected in this game of life. The more we help others, the more we help ourselves. I’m here to flip this current paradigm on his head. I don’t understand competition, only collaboration. The need to “compete” in the blogging world comes from a deeper place of fear. There’s no need to “compete” if you truly believe in yourself. Once you step into that place of total self worth and self confidence, you will likely find a deep desire to help others as you already have complete and total trust in yourself and your abilities to create.

So, what change would you like to make in the world? Are you spending your days “being” or “doing”? Is there something in the world that troubles you? Well, I encourage you to be a part of the solution by “being” that change now. Begin by believing in yourself. Next, find something that lights your fire and now become that change. Light the way for others by shining your light and never fear that helping others could dim your light. It’s just the opposite. Now, go out and shine!