Taking Off the Makeup!
I like to post images of nature, I’m not really one for the “selfie” nor posting my entire life on social media, mostly due to my intention of simply inspiring connection to the natural world.
I have struggled over the years with using this “social platform”… sometimes feeling like my mental health and spirit have been impacted greatly depending on the state of my balance within. Its always been a case of “If I’m ok, then I can look, but if I’m not then I have to keep away”…
I’m not always ok being in a world that competes and pushes for attention, I’m not always ok with seeing conflict and division in the world, I’m not always ok with seeing capitalists flourish and ecology diminish, I’m not always ok with stating my boundaries when others are hurting, when I’m hurting, I’m not always ok being strong inside. I’m not always ok….
We are not always ok…
In sharing with a friend recently in conversation we spoke of what its been like to project an image of ourselves into the world. Of how we mask ourselves or portray ourselves for varying reasons. We spoke of recognising our needs over the years for validation, for admiration or to be loved.
We spoke of the burden of carrying beliefs and conditionings, of the emptiness of being the performer and the perfectionist striving to always achieve, to be good at and to have to know how!
We spoke casually as we walked along a beach and watched the sun setting, people surfing and life around us do its thing.
Then we sat quietly overlooking the ocean from the cliffs, just quietly listening…. just listening.. Behind us was an urban built up landscape, it was to the right and the left also, you really had to look forwards to see only the ocean and the horizon…
In this point in time I’m feeling a little like a crab that has just shed it’s shell and my skin feels thin… it’s like I need to sit in the sun and allow my skin to harden a little, like I need to fill from within and meet the sunlight.
The natural world has bumps and knobbly bits, its not straight and correct in form as with buildings and advertising materials….
The tides ebb and flow, the rivers rise and fall… tiny insects are always crittering while our attention is on getting by or on success…. or on building our brand and label…while we apply our false nails and lashes, while we wear higher shoes to look taller in the world……..
We think this is natural, this is normal…
Lets take off our make up, lets be naked to our core, lets be honest… lets touch the earth with our bare hands and feet, lets be raw….
There is nothing more stunning than the Natural world, there is nothing more stunning than the natural us….
There is nothing more beautiful than humans who care for one another and the world that is real.
Rachel Shields
Knowing In Nature 2020
