Inspiring Women: Christine: Resilience

Christine is not blogging at the moment. “I’m spent by the time I carve out a moment to write, and that means I’m not writing the things I want to be writing. That means it becomes a chore. When it becomes a chore, it creates guilt. The last thing I need in my life is guilt. I’ve worked too hard to find some emotional and mental stability.” So we can find on her Facebook, Twitter and other blogs. I miss her frequent blog posts, nevertheless.

Because I appreciate Christine’s honesty about writing and living, exemplified in this post where she writes: “I realized that the hard work I’ve done to pull myself out of the trenches of depression and anxiety has been important and valuable, but hasn’t yet fully addressed the root of my struggles—my sense of self-worth and my ability to love and honour myself.”

In another, on creativity, she says “Creativity means filling others with emotion, making a difference through beauty or skill, inspiring.” Then she goes on to write openly, “My life has become an array of contradictions. I’m happy, but I’m numb. I’m energetic, but I’m weary. I’m productive, but I’m still hopelessly lost. I’m doing, but I’m not being. I’m full of life, but running on creative empty.”

I consider Christine inspiring because she is willing to acknowledge her difficulties and persist towards equilibrium and self-expression. Look at the compassionate and open-hearted letter she writes to her younger self:

“Take the time to really consider your goals. Don’t worry about the expectations of others. They aren’t the ones who will be living your life. I cannot emphasize this enough. Stop, think and revisit your deepest thoughts often. Reflect on who you think you are and who you want to be. What brings you joy and helps you to feel fulfilled? Use this to help you decide what you want to do with your life. A day will come when you learn that a career should be about passion and happiness, rather than expectation and success. It should complement the rest of your your life, not be your life. Otherwise, you might regret some of the choices you make.”

And the hard realized truths she shares: “And so, if you ask me what I’ve learned this year—after all the reading and introspection, this hard, soul work—I’ve learned that this is just it. Today. This moment. Life is best lived now, not in the past or the future. If you can understand that, I mean really, really grasp it, then everything else either falls into place, or it falls away. All of it.”

Keeping an eye on my reader, Christine, until next time.