Oh Suzy, this. Completely. You should be so proud, I’m proud of you and in awe of how you have come to this wonderful freedom and escape after so many years. That is worth celebrating every single day. You are an absolute inspiration 🎉🍾🎈🎂 I wonder if we are programmed to only see the extraordinary in others? I spent the day yesterday celebrating the launch of the book I’ve illustrated and the indie publishing company my friend and I have started, with people congratulating me and telling me how wonderful my illustrations are. And I felt so uncomfortable and awkward. Even writing it here feels like a brag and so inappropriate and uncool and to be frowned upon. Are we worse than others at celebrating ourselves do you think? Because of our history? I remember once being proud of myself for being a talente clarinet player as a child, only to be told by an adult how it was wrong, because all our talents and abilities are gifts from god and we cannot claim them. I am still angry for that little girl. Sending love and birthday wishes. Xx
Oh Emily!! I’ve come here looking for the profile of someone else so I can DM them and I’ve just seen this! I don’t know how I missed this!
I DEFINITELY believe that it’s more of a struggle to truly celebrate ourselves on account of our back drop. As you say everything was sacrificed to God and I think perhaps worse than that, we weren’t able to follow our heart and see where and what we excelled in.
Plus there was the whole not celebrating of Birthdays (or other holidays) and I don’t know about you, but I reeeally struggle to receive and to open gifts in front of people. I feel a mild panic! The not celebrating birthdays I now see as a very ostensible way of discouraging individuality.
Do you still play the Clarinet? I’m learning to talk tenderly to the little girl who frequently felt so much guilt and shame on account of the madcap belief system, but oooh gee, it’s a journey; a process.
Reeeeeeally heart well done again on your achievement in your book and publishing company. Absolutely bloody brilliant! 💫💫🪄✨I hope you can tell that clarinet playing, creative little girl that you are sooo bloomin’ proud of her.
I agree we have to let go of everything that's holding us back and just be selfish for once and celebrate! I went on a two weeks trip without my young children (mama guilt was pulling like a heavy chain), but I did it anyway. A planned trip with my long time girlfriends helped to pull me along!
But I agree that we can always celebrate every win, big or small. I hope you're celebrating there!
Oh I heart love this Rachel. Wild how much guilt and fear there can be around, what is essentially, just putting on our own oxygen mask first. All the self-judgement.
Love this quote from Lee Harris I saw y’day: Your self-judgment is not your own. It came from outside you first and you converted it into self-judgment. Your self-doubt is not your own. It came from something outside you in society and you converted it into lack of confidence.
I feel really moved and inspired you did that Rachel. And I bet your young children received an expanded and rejuvenated mama upon your return.🥹🪄
I celebrate your bravery and wild inner knowing!✨❤️
So glad you love it Suzy ❤️ it is indeed wild how guilt and fear grabs at us even if we did not feed them. That's a great quote to remember! My children definitely gotten a rejuvenated Mama, and in my absence I believe they have also expanded.
It turned out true for all the good things and not true for all the imagined bad things. So I wish for bravery for everyone who wants to celebrate and to do some selfish self-care!
“It turned out true for all the good things and not true for all the imagined bad things.” Ahaaa… I feel like this needs to plastered on every mirror on the planet! 🤓
When you said about your children expanding in your absence…sooooo powerful. My circumstances might be different but man, your words still apply! It’s hard to put into words but what you did shows on a microcosm something so important as regards what is happening on a macrocosm, right? Clearing the gunk around the importance of following our highest good first. Bc when we do, it’s actually assisting and healing all around us. 🪄💫✨🫀
Ahhh bless you Mika! Celebrating oneself was always seen as somehow prideful (not in a good way) in my former world. Really interesting to notice the growth around it and also the areas where there’s still room for growth!
And sometimes, I don’t think we see just how far we’ve come, right?
Wonderful reflections here! I did struggle with that coaching question during training, not because I feel challenged in any way to celebrate myself, but because the question and where it was usually timed during a session felt forced - like a 'should'. My own belief is that celebration is a form of recognition, and from a neuroscience perspective, pausing to notice/ recognise/ celebrate helps us root what matters and is meaningful. To me, celebrating myself doesn't require ceremony - it can be quiet, still, yet palpable.
Big fan of Coldplay! We saw them live in concert at Wembley back in 2016. Excited for when you do get to see them perform live too! ❤️
Love, love, love this Avril. It very much felt like a “should” to me too. I appreciate your words here so much.
The whole celebration of oneself, feels deeply private…not really something I could articulate in answer to that question…it’s a constant stepping forward and knowing that I’m being and doing in ways that would have simply been impossible just several years ago.🧠🫀
Re Coldplay, they are planning a residency at a stadium 🏟️ in 2025 - not sure if that’s 10 nights or what, but I’m planning on it being at the new Everton arena in Liverpool! 😁It will come into my experience at the perfect moment. 🪄💫
I was listening a lot to their latest offering, We Pray, over the weekend. Incredible tune….I saw a video on YT of one of their concerts in Dublin last week and Chris Martin introduced it by saying: ‘It’s a song about how we are all praying for the same things and how there’s not as much seperation as people think.’ So touching.
I love this so much! 🥹🙏🏼 And I too still believe in magic 🪄
Celebrating ourselves is an important skill to master.
Yes to Magicks! 🪄✨I love that line:
‘Celebrating ourselves is an important skill to master.’
Sooo important to spend time here and there acknowledging our wins right? X x
Oh Suzy, this. Completely. You should be so proud, I’m proud of you and in awe of how you have come to this wonderful freedom and escape after so many years. That is worth celebrating every single day. You are an absolute inspiration 🎉🍾🎈🎂 I wonder if we are programmed to only see the extraordinary in others? I spent the day yesterday celebrating the launch of the book I’ve illustrated and the indie publishing company my friend and I have started, with people congratulating me and telling me how wonderful my illustrations are. And I felt so uncomfortable and awkward. Even writing it here feels like a brag and so inappropriate and uncool and to be frowned upon. Are we worse than others at celebrating ourselves do you think? Because of our history? I remember once being proud of myself for being a talente clarinet player as a child, only to be told by an adult how it was wrong, because all our talents and abilities are gifts from god and we cannot claim them. I am still angry for that little girl. Sending love and birthday wishes. Xx
Oh Emily!! I’ve come here looking for the profile of someone else so I can DM them and I’ve just seen this! I don’t know how I missed this!
I DEFINITELY believe that it’s more of a struggle to truly celebrate ourselves on account of our back drop. As you say everything was sacrificed to God and I think perhaps worse than that, we weren’t able to follow our heart and see where and what we excelled in.
Plus there was the whole not celebrating of Birthdays (or other holidays) and I don’t know about you, but I reeeally struggle to receive and to open gifts in front of people. I feel a mild panic! The not celebrating birthdays I now see as a very ostensible way of discouraging individuality.
Do you still play the Clarinet? I’m learning to talk tenderly to the little girl who frequently felt so much guilt and shame on account of the madcap belief system, but oooh gee, it’s a journey; a process.
Reeeeeeally heart well done again on your achievement in your book and publishing company. Absolutely bloody brilliant! 💫💫🪄✨I hope you can tell that clarinet playing, creative little girl that you are sooo bloomin’ proud of her.
And thank you for your words of kindness 💛✨
I play still occasionally, but not often as there’s so little time, but I wrote about it (of course!!😂) https://open.substack.com/pub/whileiwasdrawing/p/because-creativity?r=1l11kb&utm_medium=ios
I agree we have to let go of everything that's holding us back and just be selfish for once and celebrate! I went on a two weeks trip without my young children (mama guilt was pulling like a heavy chain), but I did it anyway. A planned trip with my long time girlfriends helped to pull me along!
But I agree that we can always celebrate every win, big or small. I hope you're celebrating there!
Oh I heart love this Rachel. Wild how much guilt and fear there can be around, what is essentially, just putting on our own oxygen mask first. All the self-judgement.
Love this quote from Lee Harris I saw y’day: Your self-judgment is not your own. It came from outside you first and you converted it into self-judgment. Your self-doubt is not your own. It came from something outside you in society and you converted it into lack of confidence.
I feel really moved and inspired you did that Rachel. And I bet your young children received an expanded and rejuvenated mama upon your return.🥹🪄
I celebrate your bravery and wild inner knowing!✨❤️
So glad you love it Suzy ❤️ it is indeed wild how guilt and fear grabs at us even if we did not feed them. That's a great quote to remember! My children definitely gotten a rejuvenated Mama, and in my absence I believe they have also expanded.
It turned out true for all the good things and not true for all the imagined bad things. So I wish for bravery for everyone who wants to celebrate and to do some selfish self-care!
“It turned out true for all the good things and not true for all the imagined bad things.” Ahaaa… I feel like this needs to plastered on every mirror on the planet! 🤓
When you said about your children expanding in your absence…sooooo powerful. My circumstances might be different but man, your words still apply! It’s hard to put into words but what you did shows on a microcosm something so important as regards what is happening on a macrocosm, right? Clearing the gunk around the importance of following our highest good first. Bc when we do, it’s actually assisting and healing all around us. 🪄💫✨🫀
Thank you for opening up and sharing this. It’s so easy to overlook ourselves, so thank you for this beautiful reminder. 💕
Ahhh bless you Mika! Celebrating oneself was always seen as somehow prideful (not in a good way) in my former world. Really interesting to notice the growth around it and also the areas where there’s still room for growth!
And sometimes, I don’t think we see just how far we’ve come, right?
SO much celebration and love for you Mika. X✨💫🪄❤️
Wonderful reflections here! I did struggle with that coaching question during training, not because I feel challenged in any way to celebrate myself, but because the question and where it was usually timed during a session felt forced - like a 'should'. My own belief is that celebration is a form of recognition, and from a neuroscience perspective, pausing to notice/ recognise/ celebrate helps us root what matters and is meaningful. To me, celebrating myself doesn't require ceremony - it can be quiet, still, yet palpable.
Big fan of Coldplay! We saw them live in concert at Wembley back in 2016. Excited for when you do get to see them perform live too! ❤️
Love, love, love this Avril. It very much felt like a “should” to me too. I appreciate your words here so much.
The whole celebration of oneself, feels deeply private…not really something I could articulate in answer to that question…it’s a constant stepping forward and knowing that I’m being and doing in ways that would have simply been impossible just several years ago.🧠🫀
Re Coldplay, they are planning a residency at a stadium 🏟️ in 2025 - not sure if that’s 10 nights or what, but I’m planning on it being at the new Everton arena in Liverpool! 😁It will come into my experience at the perfect moment. 🪄💫
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! This is a beautiful post xx
Bless you, bless you, bless you Xanthe! 🪄🫶🏻💫✨
Really thought provoking Suze x
Thank you Ems! Did you ever grapple with that question in the TCA?
HBD!🎂
Thank you oodles Lorraine!
The Suzy celebration continues! And, in your honor, I have *Parachutes* on repeat.
Oh hahaha! I LOVE that! That’s fab.
I was listening a lot to their latest offering, We Pray, over the weekend. Incredible tune….I saw a video on YT of one of their concerts in Dublin last week and Chris Martin introduced it by saying: ‘It’s a song about how we are all praying for the same things and how there’s not as much seperation as people think.’ So touching.