Soulful Sunday #53: Be Your Vulnerable Self

Welcome to my fifty-third instalment of ‘Soulful Sundays’; a weekly share where I post a roundup of soulful reflections, each including recipes, songs, quotes, blogs I have read and/or any other inspirational discoveries to sooth the soul.

For me, Sunday’s have become a day of quiet contemplation and simple pleasures. A time to reflect on the week gone by and to consider my dreams and intentions for the week ahead.

My hope is to extend some love outward and to share some simple pleasures with anyone who cares to receive them.

Soul Reflections

This week I’ve been sitting with my vulnerabilities and allowing myself to feel into what arises, trusting that it’s all there to teach me and to help me to grow.

How many of us automatically reply “I’m well thank you!” when asked how we are, when in actual fact – we are not ok? We feel we are burdensome or negative company if we actually share what’s really going on.

Today, I’d like you to consider what support may be available to you if you showed up in your authentic state and gave yourself permission to be vulnerable and open. Remember, in doing so you allow others to do the same.

Let us let go of the surface level interactions we’ve maintained as our shield of protection and be willing to dive deep.

Allow yourself to receive the support you need. You are worthy.

Soul Strolls

With 9 weeks of pregnancy left, I am still continuing my soul strolls around my neighbourhood. I’m finding it’s not long before I have to empty my bladder these days so I can’t stray too far from home. But even around the local area there is much beauty to be found.

‘If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.’ – Vincent Van Gogh

Soul Food

I am loving cashew cheese at the moment, but i’m not loving the price! Which is why I plan to have a go at making my own. I found this fermented cashew cheese recipe which I plan to try! If you haven’t tasted Cashew Cheese yet, I highly recommend it, especially on some toasted sourdough with a sprinkle of paprika! Yum! And the best news is, it’s super healthy for your gut – bonus 🙂

Soul Music

I’d love to share this beautiful song by India Arie titled I Am Light. A timely reminder that whatever we are going through, however we are feeling, at our very core we are love and light. Each day we get to reshape ourselves, to reinvent and recreate our experiences based on this recognition. I hope you tune in for a listen…

On this Soulful Sunday, I wish you a peaceful week ahead. Trust that you are safe and secure, even in your vulnerable self. Be open to receiving the support you need. And remember, your biggest Source of support lies within; connect with it, ask for what you need – and above all else, remember your own strength.

Soul Sisters

A fellow writer who I admire for always writing from the heart and saying it ‘how it is’, is Tanya from The Incurable Dreamer. She has the ability to make me laugh out loud whilst also bringing a heartfelt tear to my eye. One of my favourite posts Tanya has written is A Storm So Perfect , where she embodies her vulnerable self so well. Head on over for a valuable read!

Love Always,

Hayley xx

Feel the Feels

Some days you just want to hide under the duvet and stay there. That was me half an hour ago.

And instead of taking a shower and doing my morning yoga before my green juice, I scraped back my hair, walked straight into the kitchen and made two buttered crumpets and a cup of tea!

I’ve had my little moment of emotional comfort. But I’m not going to let that seep into the rest of my day.

I’m going to get my sorry butt into that shower, do my morning yoga and feel 98% better for doing so! Then I’m going to guzzle my sexy green juice and feel zero guilt about the crumpets I scoffed this morning.

Why? Because I’m human and everyone deserves a moment to feel all the feels before getting dressed and showing up to the world.

Peace ✌🏻

Love always,

Hayley xx

Know Yourself.

How many of us struggle to express what it is that we want? We stumble the moment we are asked to verbalise our deepest wants and wishes.

For many, it’s that we don’t know what we want; we have yet to figure that out. For some, the head and the heart are conflicted, and we spend our lives in a state of doubt and confusion. For others, it is that we are too afraid to express ourselves for fear of what others might think. But as Robert Louis Stevenson reminds us; “To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.” If we are to claim the life of freedom and fulfillment that is rightfully ours, then we are to trust in our intuition. We must develop a deep, unwavering faith in our ability to know what keeps our soul alive; to know what it is we want from life, and to go after it. It begins with knowing oneself.

To know oneself, we must be willing to become still, to listen to our hearts. To reside in a place of integrity. It is to speak up for what we believe in, to stand up and be counted, regardless of what others may think, and to be true. Today, be true to yourself. Make a promise to get acquainted with all that you are, the multi faceted you who is perfectly whole and complete.
In love and light,
Hayley xx

Free Yourself.

 

There comes a time when we must be free. Free from the binds of the past and the limitations it has imposed upon us.

Have you been feeling trapped or misaligned from your truth? Maybe you relinquished control to another? Did you compromise on your values in order to keep the peace? We may lose our way momentarily and forget who we are, forget all that we stand for – but it is time to let go of all that. It is time to forgive ourselves. For it can happen to the best of us.

As we become attuned to our deepest selves we begin to recognise the ways in which we feel limited or constrained.  In what ways have we handed over our power? In what ways have we sacrificed our own sense of joy and happiness to avoid rocking the boat?

Today make peace with yourself. Make a firm promise to never settle for anything less than your own self-respect and integrity. Now is the time to take back control of your life – to rewrite your story, to step into your truth and reclaim your forgotten sense of freedom. You are entitled to be free. So free yourself. ‘Stand up and walk out of your history.’

In love & light,
Hayley xx