Dear Passionate Creatives
There are some women you meet and the impact of who they are is something that stays with you for life. You admire them for their strengths, their humbleness, their self assuredness, their ability to open their hearts and give of themselves so generously, but mostly, it’s that they inspire a certain way of being that you observe and hope you can mirror and implement in your own life.
When great women come together, amazing things happen. The knowledge exchanged, the wisdom passed on and the opportunity to learn and share creates a space that serves to encourage and remind oneanother of the enormity of what can be achieved when we are truly being heard. There is an unstoppable force that is triggered when women come together. It’s a reminder that when we step into our own strengths, we empower ourselves and elevate oneanother.
So who are some of the women that have inspired and influenced my life..?
It’s impossible to list them all but the stories of those dearest to me are a reminder of what we can achieve when we are driven by what we love. Renowned photographer Carla Coulson walked away from a lucrative business and life in Sydney, moved to Italy found her passion for photography and has spent the last 18 years building a successful career travelling the world, doing what she loves. Despite suffering the greatest publishing rejections and being dropped by her publishing agent, revered interior stylist Shannon Fricke went on to achieve international success with a publishing house that embraced her innovative vision and gave her the opportunity to share her knowledge and project her voice to the world. An aggressive cancer diagnoses that threatened the life of much loved Melbourne cook Kathy Tsaples, led to the pursuit of following her passion for cooking and a lifelong dream of opening her own eatery – Sweet Greek. The author of two published cookbooks, sharing her love for home-cooked Greek cuisine has led to a devoted following. And then there are the lesser known: mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmothers, aunties. We all have at least one woman in our life whose strength, resilience, selflessness and love is something we revere and encourages the best in us.
They each have their own unique story and circumstances, but with a common narrative…
They were driven by their passion and followed the current of their own truth. They had an idea, believed in it with all their heart and went for it. They faced challenges with their backs up against the wall and chose to keep going when everything around them suggested they give up the fight. They chose love over fear and listened to their gut even when nothing seemed like it was going right. They faced some of the biggest turning points in their life and said goodbye to safety and security in order to pursue what was in their heart. Their ability to overcome their greatest personal challenges is what inspires me about them most.
Over the years, I have been lucky enough to know these women as family members, mentors and friends. They have come to shape the work I do and remind me of who we can become and what we can inspire within ourselves when we are being true to what we want.
There is a quote I love by British writer and women’s rights activist Mohadesa Najumi. I have it up on my wall and refer to it often. It’s a reminder of our internal strengths and the knowledge that we only need to look within ourselves to realise the magnitude of our worth and that when we are trusting of ourselves and the belief in our potential, we are completely Unstoppable:
The woman who does not require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet…
Who are your Superheroes?
Happy Travels, Paula x
So beautiful to read and feel the quality of openness you offer here Paula. We are all amazing role models , an offering I am considering more especially the impact and ripple affect of our actions and communication. As women we each have our own unique expression and sharing our lived experiences allows us to deepen our awareness as we inspire each other to evolve and stay committed to being open to these relationships. It is not age, or accent or nationality that owns the sacredness we all equally have within but moreso our openness to connecting to it and this is where we can support each other. There have been many women in my life that have inspired me deeply from my younger colleagues at work whose zest for life is palpable, my awesome sisters who continually ask me to be more, my gorgeous partner whose heart for truth calls me to account, to strangers who have shown a grace and tenderness in the way they walk , to my wonderful mother whose willingness to stay open to learning about love and how we can continue to surrender no matter what age….
Dearest Chrissy…It’s an absolute gift to receive your message and I just want to say Thank You for your beautiful words in acknowledgement of my work…It should come as no surprise to you, that you are amongst the women that I revere and am deeply grateful to have as both a mentor and friend, the reference to Women Superheroes in this Blog Post belongs just as much to you as it does the women whose names I have mentioned.
The richness and depth of who you are and the integrity with which you walk through life is something I have always deeply admired. I miss my conversations with you, they are moneys I always cherish….
I am so grateful to have you in my life and to share out connection…
Thank You xx