A 'Golden' LIFE

When I got a message from my agent about doing a commercial for Toyota in Japan, it got me excited. This is one country I have not visited and so I was anxious to know more about the people and culture of this amazing nation. 

I know In the ancient times in Japan, when a bowl is broken, it's put together with cracks being filled with gold creating a beautiful lining. This is to emphasise that it was once broken. They believe when something has suffered damage and has a history it makes it more beautiful and this got me thinking about the ups and downs we experience in life.  I often say  I am entirely made of flaws, stitched together with good intentions by the Grace of God and I let my life represent my strengths not my weaknesses. This analogy of the broken bowl goes for human beings and it caused me to pause, think and reflect ... how possible is it to put 'pieces' of ourselves together so as anyone 'touching' us understands what happiness is.  When do we get tired of spinning round and round and stop chasing pretty rainbows and just allow it to be... wrap up all shattered and scattered dreams of our lives, put them all down and start putting them together, piece by piece filling the cracks with gold.
  

Everything that you have been through, everything that you are going through doesn't make and shouldn't make your life 'uglier' although it may seem that when we are going through it. It is up to us to choose to paint those struggles with gold and make it beautiful. You are not broken beyond repair, you can pick yourself up and learn from what has happened and become a better person from it because of the struggles that you have been through. You can wear your scars proudly as a badge of honour as if to say .. 'Hey, look what I have been through, it's made me who I am today and I can get through anything life throws at me now'. Sometimes I call it experience. 

Nobody has had a perfect life, and nobody ever will. It's only up to us, if we choose to paint broken pieces gold and make it beautiful. 

Don't be ashamed of what has happened to you. For everything that has happened to you is for a reason. The more we deny and the 

           

                                                                 

more we complain and don't accept what we have been through, then it doesn't become a lesson, and therefore it's not useful. I sometimes call it useless pain. The moment we accept and find what is useful in the struggles, then that's just like us painting the cracks in our broken pieces GOLD, turning something that could be ugly into something beautiful and inspiring. Yes, turning a negative into a positive. 

When you learn from what you have been through, then your 'golden cracks' are inspirational for others, and the struggle was all worth it, useful pain. So don't get stuck on how  life challenged or is challenging you. I once heard a quote that said,

"Every next level of your life will demand a new you." 

This empowers me greatly and sometimes it takes being broken in order to become that new version of yourself. Each new day is a blank page in the diary of your life and the hidden secret of success is in turning that diary into the best story you possibly can and thanking God all the way...So if you are going through hard times, I hope you can pause, take time to reflect and I hope these words can help you or someone you know and care for....

With every blessing xxxxxxxxxxxxx

LEARNING ABOUT MYSELF ...

LEARNING ABOUT MYSELF

Understanding is deeper than knowledge. Did you know that there are many people who know you, but there are very few who understand you? Of course there are, but why would you expect others to understand you if you don't know and understand your own self? 

For the past several months, life has taken me on a journey, a journey I thought I'd already travelled. Some people may call it "self-development" which in my case has been a time of  're-birth' in many ways. 

I call it a journey because it's a process. Knowing yourself is a journey. To be honest, I did not embark on it willingly, circumstances pushed me to it and believe you me - It takes courage and a willingness to peel back the layers bit by bit. It is a learning process about discovering who you are as a human being – yes the real you. 

When I found myself on this journey, I started searching on the outside. Fortunately, after a while, I stopped searching on the outside and realised that the search was an inside job, it had to start from within before it could manifest on the outside, and I had to ask for God's guidance to do the work, no one else could do it for me.

The journey is unpredictable and engages you deeply as it brings you face-to-face with your deepest fears, self-doubts, vulnerabilities and insecurities. On the journey you question how you are living your life and whether or not it is in alignment with your highest purpose. And if you don’t yet know your highest purpose, start searching. 

Through part of my journey, I have learnt and continue to  have a clear perception of my personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. This journey is allowing me to understand other people, how they perceive me, my attitude and responses to them in the moment. For example great relationships are about two things; appreciating the similarities and accepting and respecting the differences in people. I am learning each day, simple lessons like understanding the difference between someone who speaks to you in their free time and someone who frees their time to speak to you. Well, sounds easy, doesn't it? But it isn't! 

The journey around knowing yourself can be challenging and scary, however it also changes over time. For me remembering “Refined gold must go through fire’ and ‘joy comes but in the morning’ was a gift and the assurance that a higher power, God, is watching over me and it’s comforting. 

Indeed, a soul that  

realizes God, experiences God's infinite power, knowledge, and bliss continuously. I realise this when I utterly surrender to the infinite power, God. This was after days of covering up more and more of my face, my mind and my soul. After wrestling, I posed and listened and the still voice within told me it was ok, ok not to be perfect, ok to be me and now I don't cover up anymore. There's only one of me so why try to be like someone else? I am myself and I don't ever want to be society's idea of 'perfect' - but what is perfect anyway? My soul is more content every time I listen to the still voice within, I am tempted to call it the voice of reason ... 

This level of surrender means you're inviting in the feeling that anything is possible by a higher power, God, which means you must let go of just about everything you've learned from the world and believed to be true. It's not easy to let go of external stuff that influences our beliefs and affects perceptions, yet it is the only way we will ever find the experience of being truly free.

There's a vision for each one of us that is greater than our imagination can hold - but how many of us have ever asked our Divine creator to use us in this life, and to fulfil our purpose. I have found hope and peace to be the original 'me' because I am not a carbon copy 🤓

A Time For Everything Under Heaven.

This is the month that I first came into this world so it's always been an important one for me. This is the month to tie up loose ends, forgive and move on. An ideal month to explore new things and new opportunities. It's a time to pay attention to my thoughts and replace any negativity with positivity. It is a month to get things off my chest. Is my glass half full or half empty? I pray for the strength to face new challenges and to be cautious and adventurous at the same time. It's a VERY busy month of competitions, travelling, filming, appearances,etc. All of this is a blessing and I thank God for everything he has given me. I am blessed every day I awake and that's why I choose to be a blessing to everyone I meet. Smile and appreciate life.

In this period of atrocious and unpredictable weather it has been a real challenge to train outdoors, thunder and lightning, strong winds, and lashing rain, but it has to be done because time waits for no one. Roll on May!!!