Here's to walking ourselves into a new story!
Amanda here. And for this blog post, we're gonna get real and personal. This isn't going to be one of those blogposts that breaks it down into quick steps. Nope, this is gonna be one of those "parable" type blog posts. And the parable isn't actually a parable.
It's just a real life experience, courtesy of me and my real-freaking-life!
Today I had an experience that certainly triggered a few things within me...
I had just posted a picture of myself and my daughters in the car with our favorite morning beverages of choice... with our fresh morning faces on.
Just a few hours after posting, I got a message from a friend from the past that said,
“Wow. Amanda. What happened to the bags under your eyes?”
I was really surprised to read a message like that from him.
Not gonna lie, my gut sank. And it brought up all kinds of feelings within me. I mostly wanted to defend myself. And also lash out and say something along the lines “why would you say something like that?”
Instead, I stopped. I paused. And I observed myself.
I noticed I was feeling sad.
I noticed I felt a bit deflated.
I actually felt pretty this morning in the picture with my kids. Without a face full of make up on.
I also noticed underneath the “pain” this person triggered in me lived the different places I had been being a little rough on myself, and I hadn’t even realized it.
I lovingly apologized to me, and loved on me a bit.
And I cried.
Even with my girls in the car, I cried.
And we talked about what I was feeling. I shared openly that even though I’m so proud of me and really find myself to be beautiful now,
I’m still working on being kind to myself.
For an hour I got to have a conversation with my daughters about loving ourselves in our own skin and in every phase.
Loving the wrinkles that surround my eyes because they are the laugh lines that tell the story of the joys in my life.
Loving the frown line that is etched between my brows that tells the story of the grief, pain and loss I have endured... and come back from... triumphantly.
And loving these so called bags under my eyes, because they tell a story of staying up late, loving and laughing and connecting with my husband and kids while watching Mrs. Doubtfire.
And then getting up loooong before I felt ready this morning to pack the car and head off to the desert to make fun memories with my daughters.
And I came full circle. And lovingly walked myself back home to Truth...
The TRUTH that I am both loved and lovely.
After taking the time to walk myself back home to the Truth, I reached out to my friend.
Instead of lashing out, I actually chose to ask two questions.
My message said:
“Would love to know more of what you see? And what you mean?”
His response:
“I see no sunken sullen eyes or bags or shadow at all. Completely gone as if it was never there. AMAZING.”
And then I laughed my butt off.
Man, did I misread that original text or what. 
And thank heavens I did. Because what that “misread” set in motion was a trigger for goodness.
PS, Michelle and I have a podcast to go right along with this topic. We dive deeper into the "whys" and "hows." So if you'd like a little bit more of that, click HERE.