Spice Bloggers Meet Up : A Conversation on Listening

Yeah, I know these pictures are super blurry and completely unfiltered and I'm not changing a thing. What you see here ladies and gentlemen is a group of people changing the world with their talents and passions. Real people, with compassion and fear and a whole lot of bravery in an unfiltered real world.

Studios make me happy

I've been craving some truth lately. It's easy to loose sight of it when you're an influencer and a lot of your job brings you to places filled with filters and fame.

I don't ever want to forget why I do what I do. Why I am so honest and have such a big personality and love hard and laugh loud and smile far too big for the comfort of many. My shirt says hug a tree by the way, just thought I'd add that in, you know, cause it's important. I am a person who loves genuine connection with others. I am a person and I love people. I love talking with them and learning from them and teaching them. I also love dogs and the sky and long walks one the...wait where where we? Oh, right, people.

 Grenada Soul Adventurer and I lookin' all good ans stuff

This year was a tough one. Boy oh boy did I get sick. Not the usual sick either, not the albino in the Caribbean oh crap here is that whole skin cancer thing again. I mean that totally happened but that's not the star of this story, stay with me. I got sick in ways that changed my personality. That slowed me down and shut me up and got me fighting mad about it. Cause i'm pretty grand and I didn't like being changed from the inside in a painful way.

Fair to say it brought on quite a crisis of faith and I'm not even better! I am remembering who I am though, living and trusting what I believe and continuing just...continuing.  But you know what made it harder?  Believing the lies that surround us every day. The filters and the fame and the planned smiles and the speeches made without listening in return.

All those broad selfie smiles and kick ass accomplishments that I hadn't finished accomplishing not for lack of trying. For a moment there I almost forgot that we are real people who take blurry pictures and are living pretty blurry lives trying to make sense of it all.

Maybe some people have it complete figured out. To which I say, stay away from me you lying lier lie face. I'm kidding, good on you and well done but also give me the broken, give me the cracked. Give me those who mend their cracks with gold and say here I am, whole and beautiful still. Let me learn from those people. Where are their instagram pages?

I am not saying I have not been authentic in my struggle. The truth is most of the things you know about, most of the things I share on social media are pretty great! I finished my degree, I have a job, I travelled recently and I don't hate who I am. I'm also rather in love with my God and believe in Him with all of my heart and I stay unashamed about this. Not even asking you to understand that either!

I guess I'm just saying, here I am and here we are on this earth, a group of hard workers who deserve to be happy too. Real people who fail and succeed and then fail again so hard and then succeed SO GOOD and you don't always get to see the entire equation...but I want you to know it. I truly believe that authenticity will always be more healing and impacting than pretence. I have dedicated my life to the truest truth. Flaws and all. I have been hurt as a result of that decision so deeply you wouldn't believe....but something tells me, you totally would believe because pain my friend, is something to which most humans can relate even from the wariest and latest of age.

Msy.Chrissy, Malaika who facilitated our session at Spice Harmony Yoga Studio who hosted us, Grenada Soul Adventurer,  Kered, Amber Kane (serving up that face i love it!) and Antonio

So here we are living beautiful painful lives and changing the world anyway with our blurry pictures and silly smiles.

Listen well to your truth even if your truth is painful. Let yourself hear it and feel it. Then be compassionate to yourself and others. Maybe you wont be able to share it all but accept that that's okay because sometimes only you need to hear you. Since you're the only one feeling this, you are the only one that can validate those feelings.

Hey or you could write that shit down or dance that shit out. People are dumb and they will fail you but words and a good solo dance party? oOoOo BABY!  Maaaan, self doubt who?!

I hope that when you are alone at night in your bed fighting off the confusion of the pain you feel at some point or another that you remember: it hurts because you are alive, it hurts because you feel it. Feeling is one of the best perks of being alive!

So at this get together we sat and were real with each other.  We talked strategy and truth and moving forward with an air of compassion and with much admiration and laughter for what we have accomplished with our unique gifts.

I feel like compassion is a rare jem these days in these of consumerism and get rich fast or die trying. I was really happy for this space in time and for the realness.

Peace. Love. Feeling!