Can I be “fearlessly” honest with you today? Seven years ago, my life changed in ways I was not expecting. The person that I thought was my best friend, and my husband of almost 10 years, lied and cheated on me. Please note, I’m not putting blame on anybody–I’m just stating the facts.
This life changing event, rocked my world and literally brought me down to my knees. Looking back now, that was the best place to be because it taught me to anchor myself to what is really important and worth it in my life (faith, family, health and the work I do from my heart).
Why am I sharing this with you today? The picture you see in this post is ME, and it was taken by the person that betrayed my trust. At first sight you might not think much of it but let me share what was going on in my head at that moment. I was turning 50 in few weeks, I had lost over 50 lbs. and I still didn’t feel pretty enough, skinny enough, and YES, even good enough (I mean, my husband had cheated on me with a younger woman). I allowed my circumstances to tell me that because I was older, I was no longer pretty. Even though I had lost all the extra weight and was back in good shape, I felt uncomfortable with my wrinkles, the stretch marks in my belly, my sagging breast and my back fat. You see, I equated the cheating with ME not being good enough. Truly, although I can see where I had misjudgments in my thinking, this was more about ME unveiling my true self. The Me that I was created to be all along but that was masked by pain, hurt, distrust, and all the other stories in my head of WHY I was never good enough.
It wasn’t until I DECIDED to stop running away from all that pain and exposed all the lies I have been telling myself and took a good look in the mirror to see what GOD said about ME, that my life started to shift. (Please don’t get stuck with the word God, use creator if it suits you better.) It has been a long journey, and I can write a book about it (and I will, I promise!) Here is the main point of this post: I’m now 7 years older, have few extra pounds, more grey hairs and a bit more flab, however I feel like I’m the prettiest I have ever been, inside and out.
When I look at myself in the mirror now, I love my reflection. Why, because when I look in the mirror, I no longer have to hide the lies of my past, I don’t have to carry the burdens all alone and I don’t need to pretend I’m someone that I’m not because I’ve unearthed the essence of my identity, and with it my zest for life, my desire to explore the world around me, my passion for anything RED (I’m talking about shoes, bras and clothes), my love for people and humanity. It’s no longer about being right but loving. It’s no longer about the weight but about being strong. It’s no longer about the grey hairs or the wrinkles, it’s about my inner peace and beauty. It’s about connection, vulnerability, transparency, and intimacy.
My desire for you today is that you DECIDE to let go of what’s holding you back from unveiling the real you and DECIDE to embrace the true essence of who you were created to be. Decide today to give yourself the best gift, the gift of YOU!
My beautiful ladies, let your beauty shine through today and remember to “Feel Beautiful Underneath” every day!