Today I want to talk about acknowledging what makes us unique as people, something that's truly "us". There are times when we end up calling ourselves "weird" rather than appreciate what makes us the uniquely amazing person that we are. This need for "fitting in" distorts and supersedes our own true desires and in order to belong, we pretzel ourselves into what we believe everyone else wants.

I will begin with my own example of my childhood. When I was 4 years old, a cousin of ours handed down the loveliest party dress in the world. It had layers of lace with hand embroidered satin and silk. Every time I asked to wear it, I was told no because my mom feared that I would be ridiculed and not be able to "fit in" because it was too outdated and an over-the-top fancy dress. All I wanted was to celebrate wearing something of such lovely beauty.

So what is happening? Why do we do this to ourselves? It starts with a deep need for connection and the need for belonging. We think that we need outside approval or acknowledgement to be able to "fit in". In reality, what we should truly be doing is to belong to ourselves first, acknowledging our own worth and value from within ourselves.

So how do we get there? How do we begin to heal ourselves so that we get to the place where we can acknowledge our self-worth? The first step is to realise that we are doing this in the first place: not being able to see our own self-worth. Healing begins as soon as we become aware. The next step is to take a deep breath and remind ourselves that we have a choice! A choice to celebrate life. When we choose life, we choose ourselves and that brings us the freedom to celebrate all the wonderful weirdness within us.

So, if you want blue hair, get blue hair! If your little boy wants to wear hair barrettes let him celebrate life and discover what it feels like to try something. Give yourself permission to choose life, to choose what makes you happy. Viva la Weird!!

I invite you to come and heal at the Gentle Bear healing clinic and it will be my honour to serve you.