I believe in becoming stronger and encouraging strong women and lifting up other girls to rise to their own potential.
I am going to tell you the most well kept secret of loving yourself and to becoming the best you that you can be:
You are the only person that can set yourself up for greatness.
I know that sounds like an easy thing to throw out and a cheap answer. But it is true! You could have the most supportive person in your life that is always there for you and lets you know just how wonderful you are but that is the actual cheap trick. Talking to yourself and letting your inner being shine through is the only way that you will come to love yourself. Loving yourself in turn, is the only way that you can become the greatest version of you that you can be!
I had the pleasure of re watching a favorite film of mine over the weekend – Whisper of the heart (also known as Nausicaa) by Studio Ghibli. While also a recurring theme within the film, this particular scene got my gears turning and I had to share it with you all. Here’s an excerpt…
Shizuku, the main character, has just pitched her story idea to the grandfather of Seiji, the boy with whom she forms a strong bond.
Mr. Nishi: Wait a minute, I’ve got something to show you (retrieves a rock from his cabinet). I think you’ll like this (hands Shizuku the rock) – take a look.
Shizuku: It looks like a rock.
Mr. Nishi: It’s a special kind of rock called geode. Hold it close to your eye and look inside – that’s right, like that. (Shines small torch beside stone, which lights up the green crystals inside)
Shizuku: (gasps) Look at that!
Mr. Nishi: Those crystals are called beryl. There are pieces of raw emerald still inside.
Shizuku: Aren’t emeralds worth a lot of money?
Mr. Nishi: Sure, but they need to be cut and polished first. When you first become an artist, you are like that rock. You’re in a raw and natural state, with hidden gems inside. You have to dig deep down and find the emeralds tucked away inside you. And that’s just the beginning. Once you have found your gems, you have to polish them. It takes a lot of hard work. Oh, and here’s the tricky part – look at the crack in the geode.
Shizuku: OK (looks inside the top crack)
Mr. Nishi: You see the big green crystal there, you could spend years polishing that, and it wouldn’t be worth much at all. The smaller crystals are much more valuable. And there may even be some deeper inside, which we can’t see, that are even more precious …
Shizuku: What if I look inside myself and I don’t find any gems? What if I’m just a rock? I’m going to try anyway! I’m going to write that story and I’ll let you be the first to read it!
The message in this story is something I want to instill in myself, my younger sister, my possible future daughter and so on. When looking at yourself loon not for the things you have to offer – look for the potential you have to grow and the power you have within yourself.
Looking at yourself as a geode can be a little tricky within itself Think of yourself at the very beginning – maybe as a small child – you are in your natural state. but each and every one of us has millions of sparkling emeralds laying in us waiting to be harvested, cut and polished. it is incredibly hard to find that we are worthy sometimes but everyone has that special something about them just waiting to be found. Just like with the crack in the geode, you could have a big accomplishment in your life, and that might not even be the best part of you. I challenge you this week to look within yourselves for all of those nifty little bits. But what if you fail? What if it wasn’t the way you thought it would turn out? What if you’re only a rock? Well my friend, you’ll never know until ya try !
Kai’s Keys to Self Love:
1. Forgive yourself
2. Become mindful of what you want, think and need
3. Give yourself room to grow
4. Protect yourself, but let others in
5. Live intentionally
fewandfarfetch 