BeautiFLY Your Life – Installment #4

I was raised on fairytales.

Everything had a happy ending. All you really had to do was follow the breadcrumbs and you’d find yourself Home Sweet Home.

A wonderful, comfortable and safe place where everything is abundantly beautiful…. This loving place called Home.

I have moments experiencing this place I call Home in many different situations. When something feels familiar, or I’ve just met someone that seems like an old friend immediately. Flashes of happy memories that seem like yesterday warming my heart again as if it were currently happening. Connecting to something that feels very deep, soulful…..

I relate these “moments” to breadcrumbs and when I catch a glimpse, I try to follow them and see where I end up. Acknowledging, listening and giving them permission to surface.

Being a makeup artist, I am blessed to have many different opportunities doing what I do. I recently had the pleasure of doing makeup on some pretty amazing woman that have experienced the diagnosis of cancer. These Thrivers are nothing short of amazing. Their beauty holds no bounds and as a trained professional, I know of what I speak.

Yet as women, for whatever reason we temporarily forget our beauty A LOT. In fact, it’s more common than not to be in the place of lack than the never ending, always ENOUGH presence of our inner beauty.
We loose sight of this place of beauty and I think we do so without even knowing it’s happening.
Listening to others opinions, social media, short sighted definitions of beauty, our own doubts. All of these can cloud our perspective of beauty. Real beauty. Our own special gifts to ourselves and to the world we live in.

While spending time with these “Thrivers”, I had the opportunity to witness them following the breadcrumbs, leading them to reconnecting to their inner beauty again after Breast cancer. Once the connection is made, it looks something like this.

A little gasp.
 A stolen glance.
 A soft laugh. 
A timid smile.
 A moment of acknowledgement. A hearty laugh.
 A few tears.
 A peaceful remembrance.
 A calm.
 A familiar place.
A return to what is the truth, what is known but has been forgotten.
The look of joy and recognition shines through and a healing takes place. For everyone involved.

Ladies, I invite you to follow the breadcrumbs. Pay attention to them and follow them with an open heart. Connect to your inner beauty and embrace it with gentle, loving arms.
They say Home is where the heart is…. May you find your way Home.

– Jan Ping

Read this article in the digital issue of Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine on page 28!