During a session recently (not the one pictured), I took an image and was gobsmacked with the beauty of the woman that was captured in said image. It was so stunning that I needed to show my client immediately. She was questioning the outfit she was wearing and I wanted to put her mind at ease.
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When I showed her the photo on the back of the camera, she said “ugh. Oh no.”
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I asked, “what’s wrong?”
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She said, “I’m just so big, my chest is so big.”
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I gently responded, “Well, your boobs are big, no doubt about that. But, I didn’t even look at your boobs. I just saw your face and how beautiful, powerful, confident and strong you looked.”
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She said, “I didn’t even look at my face! Let me see that again…(silence as she looks again)…….OH MY! I am so beautiful! Wow!”
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Then I took a chance to coach her.
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What are you missing, what don’t you see about yourself when you are only focused on what you think is wrong with the way you look?
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When you focus on the negative things *you think* about yourself, those negatives only grow larger and larger. It’s easier to see more negatives and you fail to see yourself completely. Focusing on just one part of yourself.
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And then….
You miss all the wonderful things about yourself because you focus your attention on what you don’t like. You can’t see anything else.
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She couldn’t see her power.
She couldn’t see her strength.
She couldn’t see her confidence radiating through.
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She was blind to all the beauty that existed in that moment.
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All she could see was “big,” and in her head, she deemed big as bad. She didn’t even look at what else was in the image.
And she missed so very much.
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Focus on everything.
Focus on your whole self.
Focus on all that you see.
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Don’t belittle yourself by reducing yourself to just one part of your body.
Don’t waste one more minute failing to see all the facets of you!
Maura is a angel on earth with the best gift of all- leaving people better than how she found them. She is the most comforting, welcoming, warm individual I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. At one point during my shoot I was sitting on the floor in front of her, hunched over, sitting unladylike, and mid conversation I said to her “I can’t believe this. Coming from the girl who ‘sucks in’ while walking through a store of strangers. I’m sitting here raw as could be, not a care in the world, just enjoying conversation. I could tell you all the reasons why you DESERVE to do this for yourself, but.. I’ll go with the one I find most important.
