This is not about men; it's about YOU!!!

I was at work on Friday and for those aware of my delightful shiftwork, you’d know I start at 2.30 in the morning and so we do whatever it takes to keep ourselves awake at this ungodly hour. This morning I was working with one of my more contemplative and spiritually in touch colleagues.

We read our horoscopes and although neither of us religiously prescribes to psychics forecasts of our future, yesterday’s prediction was worth paying attention to for the self-evaluation it offered and the discussion that ensued.

After a week of typically overworking and exhausting myself, my horoscope said that yesterday in particular an old flame would be reignited, this time the sparks would illuminate a new passion, new lessons and I’d emerge more luminescent and less burns victim.

Love, this week was not about falling prey to old predators, it was not about being a carnivorous man-eater either, it was about welcoming me back into my life. This is not a self-righteous, holier-than-thou lesson but just a lesson in caring for myself so that I still had something to give back.

The fact is in life, women have a tendency to over-commit themselves whether it be socially, at work, in family or trying to strike a balance between all three. While personal training this week, my punches were weak, forceless, without strength (not me at all) and my trainer commented that I had run out of fuel. In truth, my lights were out, I’d run out of fuel, my battery was dead and I think I was even a little short on water – it’s no wonder we couldn’t get the engine running.

What I realised was that in trying to be  superhuman, I was so busy saving everyone and faking invincibility that when it came to saving myself, I’d lost all power to do so. There was one question inspired by a song I was listening to that echoed perpetually in my mind; who’s there to save the hero?

The lyrics to Beyonce’s “Save the Hero” sing:

I'm left with no shoulder
But everyone wants to lean on me.
I guess I'm their soldier.
Well, who's gonna be mine?

Who's there to save the hero
When she's left all alone
And she's crying out for help.
Who's there to save the hero
Who's there to save the girl…
After she saves the world?

(listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb0tycNJc-I ). Beyonce has a point!

This is in no way me advocating for women around the world to end the sisterhood and stop supporting each other but rather a call for women who are so consumed in being the hero to take a step back and remember to care for themselves. I’ve said it before and will say it again; you are your best asset, so you’re worth investing that extra time and effort in caring for before bitterness becomes you after being dangerously negligent of yourself. I know I’m channeling Dr. Phil or your grandmother, but this is important!

In Cherie Cater-Scott’s #1 New York Times bestseller If Life Is a Game, These Are the Rules, Scott gave the world ten rules for climbing the ladder, standing taller and overcoming life’s challenges. The rules are as old as love itself and the first one for true long-lasting, core-shaking love is to begin by loving yourself first. 

After twenty-five years of conducting workshops and seminars, Chérie discovered that the most important and therefore probably the most difficult to understand and attain is the acquisition of love and then finding contentment with that partnership.

You’ve heard it reiterated a million times “love is the thing” and everyone is looking for it or looking for ways to sustain it. The onus falls on you in this game to make your first move towards love by loving yourself.

Central to the way people respond to you and to your capacity to love is the relationship you have with yourself. The highest common factor in all of your life experiences; family, friends, love, relationships, work, is YOU!! That is why chapter one of her book is centred on nurturing that relationship.

That loving relationship you form with yourself inspires confidence to be yourself, security in your judgements and lack of compromise to things lesser than you deserve.

Whether you are an Aquarius or not, I’ll make my own prediction for your future; if you invest in you, you will have the energy to give love to others and will have it duly returned to you. Health is wealth so love yourself and experience new prosperity.

THE QLD FLOOD APPEAL - HOW YOU CAN INUNDATE VICTIMS WITH LOVE

The opening line of a tale of two cities is “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and Charles Dickens must have foreseen how transcendent that line would be in life, in love, in triumph and in tragedy. 

In these devastating times, with the Queensland floods drowning out New Year’s joy and forcing innocent people to hold on to values for loss of everything else, I believe if Dickens had written the line today he would have meant that at our worst, our greatest strength, our greatest friends, our greatest love is revealed. That’s the immovable, unshakeable formula that empowers people to weather any storm. 

This week I’ve been touched by tales of love that conquer any and all adversary. With the stories of the Queensland floods being inescapable, audiences across the country watched on with heavy hearts and sunken spirits, waiting for a little ray of sunshine that would help reignite a fighting spirit in victims of this disaster. With the promise of a new sunrise, some still looked to see new light. 

On channel 7’s Sunrise, a story was aired on a couple that had set their wedding for this weekend. This couple chose to dance in the rain and still celebrate their big day, thrilled to have each other having had their love confirmed in their loss. Rain, hail or shine - this couple found a home in each other’s hearts, shelter in each other’s love and greener pastures in their future together. 

Love conquered not just in marital love but in brotherly bonds also. This case had a more tragic ending. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8195370/save-my-brother-first-said-teen-victim A 13-year-old Toowomba boy named Jordan Rice was swept to his death minutes after pleading to rescue workers to save his brother first in spite of being unable to swim and afraid of water. In an act of selflessness, humility and unconditional love, this little hero put his brother’s life first, leaving a legacy of love for his younger brother to eternally carry with him. Biblically, Jesus preached that “greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” This little man did just that because even at thirteen he knew the power of love.  The flash floods swept him and his mother away. They were seen clinging for life on a nearby tree branch but the force was too strong and they were carried to their fate. 

Steve and Sandy Matthews lived and died together. Sandy Matthews, trapped behind a fridge was almost rescued by her husband Steve, when a wall collapsed and swept these soulmates away. They were together as parents, as lovers, in good times and bad, but love meant that not even death could separate them. 

The tales are increasingly tragic and I’m appealing to anyone that reads this to show new love. Love that rains a new sense of positivity over the victims of the Queensland floods. Spread a love that reaches out to strangers. Share a love that unites us all.  Give love that somehow helps rebuild the lives of those who have had their spirits drowned by these flash floods. Let’s overwhelm Queensland with a different type of inundation – a flood of generosity, that shows that even in the worst of times, the best in people can be brought out.

www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html (This site is entirely government owned and all  proceeds will go to rebuilding the lives of the Qld flood victims)