Face value

Have you ever wondered why I post so many pictures of myself on this blog?

The short answer is self-healing... but I'm not exactly renown for short answers, so here's the long one...

After being ashamed of myself for way too long, this is a cathartic approach to restoring my self esteem. I absolutely HATED having my photo taken after I gained weight a decade ago. They were far from flattering and to be perfectly frank - I appeared fat and terribly ugly.

During our trip around the world five years ago, I mastered the art of self portraiture - thanks to my husband who is a superstar at it. Over time, I cultivated a relationship between me and the lens and have consequently captured what I refer to as 'the essence of my spirit'.

While this may sound a bit new age and purple crushed-velvety, this is something I have been known for in the portraiture of others. I have often been praised for my photography of people and (wait for it) capturing the essence of their spirit. I have been told on more than one occasion "Oh my God Grace, you can make ugly people look beautiful" (seriously).

The truth is, I don't make people look beautiful... I see people as beautiful.

Through self-portraiture I have been able to see and acknowledge my own beauty despite how other people see me in their photographs. This has been hard and, let's face it, WEIRD. But it has been a necessary step in embracing myself and restoring my self esteem and confidence.

My self portraits are primarily a reminder that I am worthy (I should also add that they are also practical as I'm always in my own company and don't need to seek my permission). Someone with fledgling self esteem, such as your's truly, needs to be reminded of this regularly (the bit about being worthy, not about self portraiture being practical).

The act of me taking a self portrait that I deem worthy and, dare I say, beautiful enough to post on the world wide web is an enormous breakthrough for me. This is what I call 'face value' and for that, I make no apologies. While it may appear narcissistic, I can assure you that it is therapeutic.

Until tomorrow, make no apologies for improving your self worth - whatever it takes.

Grace xx

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Window Seat

Whenever I check into a flight, I always request a window seat.

Sure window seats may not be as comfortable or convenient as aisle seats (for leg stretching and toilet trips) but to me, it's all about the view (and the fact I can utilise the window as a headrest mid flight).

I love gazing at the world below and wonder whether there's anybody down there looking up at me. Who are they? What are they like? Where is there home? What are they thinking when they see us?

I get lost in my imagination while simultaneously marvelling at nature's magnificence. I am awed by the carving of the landscape. Such beauty. So humbling.

When I fly over central Australia (during daylight) my heart skips a beat. The intense red earth contrasting the brilliant blue sky is nothing short of breathtaking. This is my home.

Today I am happy to be flying home. I look forward to reconnecting with my family, friends and my husband, mentor and best friend Patrick (whose birthday it is tomorrow). A new adventure awaits.

Until tomorrow, please enjoy this wonderful extract from the quintessential Australian poem titled 'My Country' by Dorothea Mackellar (1885 - 1968).

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!

In the words of Dorothy, there's no place like home.

Grace xx

ps. Happy birthday eve ZigZig - can't wait to see you xxooxx

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Swiss mountain magic

Switzerland is without a doubt quirky. And for that, I love it!

From their Hansel and Gretelesque gingerbread housing to promo graphics depicting hiking pigs, through to their bell-chiming cows and of course, yodelling.

It's all fabulous and completely my cup of chocolat chaud (hot chocolate).

Ever since my arrival, I have felt playful - like a wide-eyed child. You just can't help feeling joyful in this amazing place.

Perhaps this childlike wonder comes from being dwarfed by the spectacular mountains. There's something completely magical about the Swiss alps that words cannot do justice.

These towering majestic beauties are both humbling and empowering, they're calming yet uplifting, their presence can be felt even with your eyes closed. This is what I call Swiss mountain magic.

I've attempted to capture this awe on video, but alas it is only a mere sample of the overall wonderment. For your convenience, I've embedded the video below for blog visitors whereas email subscribers can click here to view (don't you just love how I do things for your convenience? I ought to be an informercial).

Until tomorrow, find the magic that has you feeling like a playful child.

Grace xx

PS. A big happy 40th birthday to my cousin Danni. We had many magical, playful-child moments growing up together.

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Beauty has its price

I received a really interesting reply to my last blog about the perception of beauty. It went something like this (okay, it went exactly like this):

"The tricky thing about weight is the bloody battle is mostly in our heads and what we are told is "beautiful" - I prefer those African tribes that love a woman of the saggy boob – the saggier the sexier!! Some tribes even find attached earlobes the oh-la-la of the lusting world – so much more civilised and interesting then Victoria Beckham and the gaggle of food avoiders we westerners idolise! "

This got me Google-ing African tribal cultures, which eventually led me to this video (above).

Instead of rejoicing a culture that reveres fat women, I was actually disturbed at how they force feed girls to achieve their desired result. I guess in our culture, it would be like feeding girls celery sticks till they vomited in order to make them thin (apparently celery has a negative calorie value as it takes more energy to digest that what they contain)... or worse, stop feeding them all together.

This got me thinking about global cultures and their quest for attaining beauty... and then I started to wonder, is it only women who are paying the price...?

I would be so interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Until tomorrow,

Grace

ps. Have decided to blog on weekends, though vowed to keep them short!