NO MAKE UP, JUST THE NATURAL ME!

There are no touch ups on this picture.

And my new silver is coming through.

This is MY dream come true.

To be me when I work.

I just got off from a video session with a client.

I didn’t put on make up.
I didn’t “dress up”.
I didn’t even brush my hair.

Don’t get me wrong.

Sometimes my Diva wants to shine!
I love getting my Goddess ON.
This can include dressing up and adorning myself.

But the difference for me?

My terms + full spectrum Goddess.

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1st = MY TERMS.

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As a woman exposed to the typical conditioning that slowly stripped me of my originality and essential self, I learned early on (as we all do) that I had to PUT ON in order to succeed.

PUT ON …

• A smile.
• A pleasing attitude.
• An acceptable persona.
• A marketable appeal.

How I showed up — including what I wore — ALWAYS was influenced by what others would think of me.

Looking back, it astounds me how one of my CORE concerns was about how I’d be seen by others.

Some of it was vanity, but most of it felt like survival.

I believed I needed to be seen a certain way to get by in the world.

That my APPEAL factor would determine my success.

Would they like me?
Would they want to be around me?
Would they think I’m sexy?

How do I look?
Does my body look good?
Are my curves attractive?
What do you think of my hair?

In my 20’s, when I applied to get my Master’s Degree, I clearly remember deciding that AUTHENTICITY is one of my core values.

I didn’t want to “suit up” for work.

To feel I had to choose what I wore to remain employable.

To wear certain “professional” clothes that don’t feel good to my temple in order to be guaranteed a paycheck.

I intended to know success to be an expression of my authenticity and that my full self would be at the table and even that I would be PAID for having my insides and outsides match.

I’ve created that.

My sense of worth and value has changed dramatically (even though I still get visits from my insecurities)…

… and I no longer PUT ON.

So how I show up (and the clothes I wear) are on my terms.

I do it for ME, not for anyone else.

And, paradoxically by being more me, I’m more out of my own way and
able to be of greater service.
That is one of the gifts in authenticity.

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2nd = FULL SPECTRUM GODDESS.

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I don’t like the one-dimensionality that most people buy into.

It’s boring, constricting and exhaustively unattainable.

I am multi-dimensional.

Strong AND emotional.
Tom boy AND princess.
Down to earth AND glitzy.

I define GODDESS by how I feel about myself and the expression of what is real for me.

I do not fit in a box, nor aspire to reach or attain an expression that is “approved” of.

I can wail in my grief and be messy in the earth.
I can laugh in my bliss and dance with joyful abandon.

So today?

Give me a snugly sweatshirt and yoga pants.

Tomorrow?

We’ll see how I feel.

Regardless.

I rejoice in feeling centered and GOOD in my natural state and not questioning the value my clients receive.

With all that I am,

Kendra E Thornbury, MA