The Art to Being Awesome by Tara Le Flohic

Dear lovely followers,
Here is another guest blog Post from my friend Tara, I think we could all learn something from Tara about how AWESOME we really are!! Hope you enjoy this as much as I did, Thanks Tara


Hi I’m Tara. I want to show you something……..
It’s a rock I found at my local park when I was walking my teeny tiny ChihuahuaMahlee.
This rock was placed in the tree for someone like me to find by a collective movement of people who paint things on rocks and then go hide them in and around local parks and recreation hangouts for others to find. These people do this for the intention of bringing joy and happiness to others especially kids. The rock I found said, ‘BE YOURSELF’.

Anywho I went home and placed my new-found object de art on my sideboard and thought nothing more of it. Got on with my life as you do until I was invited by the Western Australian Association for Mental Health (WAAMH) to share a story that would offer a ‘HAND OF HOPE’ to others.
As someone who identifies as having ‘LIVED EXPERIENCE’ I have built up quite a repertoire of sad stories of bad experiences, dysfunctional coping strategies and dark places……

I tortured myself for days trying to concoct an elaborate and intense story for me to share with you here today. I was becoming very disheartened due to the fact that I felt I had nothing of value to share. I’ve never been on an overseas great adventure, never been anyone of great importance, and never achieved great fame or fortune…….


Then I thought of my rock…..and I asked my sister in law who participates in the Rock Movement to paint me my very own rock… You Are Awesome!!!

My rock states, ‘YOU ARE AWESOME’…which made me think. How do you be awesome? Is something you become? Like the Maybelline Add maybe you’re you born with it? Can you get it from somewhere? Is Awesome simply a state of being?

I googled Awesome and the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of Awesome as an adjective is: ‘extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring awe. As a synonym Awesome is breathtaking, stunning, awe inspiring, unbelievable, extraordinary, incredible, and inspirational’.

Ok…….then how does one become extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring and awe eliciting inspirational.

I reflect back on my journey as someone with a Lived Experience to where I am today. Trying my hardest to remember a time when I can honestly say with confidence that I was amazing or inspiring …..and what springs to my mind ………..life has not always been easy…...and sometimes my stuff is too heavy to carry but when I feel like this I make myself reflect that…………….

My life from the time I can remember until now has been a kaleidoscope of experiences good and bad, colourful, creative memories melded together to form the end project.. a beautiful one of a kind authentic magnificent priceless entity. ME

And I’m still here... Living breathing alive and thriving……perhaps maybe that makes me AWESOME. How did this phenomenon happen you might ask???

If you have time, there is a clip on YouTube that I find inspiring.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgpRXuG_INw

You’ll find a clip of a little gender neutral LGBTQI, Culturally and linguistically Diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inclusive kinesin protein walking towards the positive end of a microtubule while dragging an endorphin.


To me when I watch this YouTube clip I see the analogy of abody of happiness carrying all my stuff past and present like a BOSS in a way that is absolutely and unequivocally AWESOME! The more awesome I become the less my stuff bothers me……………………...


Maybe if the fact I’ve just related isn’t enough to convince you that you right here and now are Awesome just as you are, just stop and think of the fact that you were the lucky sperm that beat 200-300 million potential siblings to the one egg existing in your mother’s body.


You are a miracle of creation even if you feel life is hard and challenging at times.


Just remember:
Cyndi Lauper sang, ‘let your true colours shine through’
Pink sang, ‘you are one of a billion of beautiful hearts’
Lady Gaga sang, ‘you, me, we were born this way’ and that’s cause for celebration


Each and every one of you has something to celebrate. Awesome is a trait that exists in all of us.


And opportunities to inflict your Awesome on others can occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 365 days per year for the rest of our natural lives. You don't have to wait till someone else gives you a reason or permission to be AWESOME. Paint your own rock ...take time to appreciate the effort and creativity you put into your very own piece of artwork (Yourself).


Perhaps you could place your objects of art in places where people can find them easily. Don't hide them too well. Just think for a minute how many individuals you could impress and inspire with your Awesome. Maybe a little bit of awesome might rub off onto them in a way that offers them a ‘HAND OF HOPE’


A slight glimpse of hope can just be enough to show to someone how they can still have ‘stuff’ but achieve awesome at the same time .


I don’t know your life history as you don’t know mine. We are all on a journey through life. But I would like to conclude that it doesn’t matter where you are in your journey, you can choose to carry your ‘stuff’ like a boss just like a happiness molecule and be totally AWESOME because you are you and how you choose to utilise your Awesome can help change the world for the better.