As much as I love working from home, I admit, some days I just look for an excuse to actually leave the house because I simply want a chance to dress up. Recently I had to pick up some friends from the airport, and with a bit of brisk in the air, I put on my new fur vest and sparkly earrings. But it was a bad hair day, so I just through my hair up in a bun to cover up the fact that it was in need of a hair wash… bad.
Before heading out the door, I took a self-portrait on my iPhone and Instagramed it saying “It’s so nice to feel back to normal after my accident. Praise God!”
I didn’t come back to my desk to read email until the next morning to where I got a big laugh out of a comment left by a college friend, Afton, on my Facebook on the picture:
“I love that normal for you is fur and chandelier earrings.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, but then think, “Yeah, I guess it is now, but it wasn’t always.”
Then I thought about how the only reason I bought a fur vest was because I saw it on my dear friend, the fabulous make up artist Paulina Perez. When she walked in to do my make up for our promo video above, I just love love loved her fur vest. For a second I thought, “Gosh, I don’t know if I have the guts to wear something like that. But if she can rock it, why can’t I?”
Shortly after, I bought my fur vest, what once felt like “Oh gosh, I don’t know if I can wear something this bold,” soon became my “normal.”
It reminds me of a line from one of my favorite quotes by Marianne Williamson:
“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
What is normal to you, might be abnormal to someone else. But as a child of God, we are not called to blend in. We are called to be bold, stare fear in the face and courageously set our own paths. And with each new step toward what once felt impossible, it eventually becomes our new normal. Whether it’s a piece of fashion you want to rock but fear people might think you’re crazy, or a business idea you want to implement that you are too afraid to risk for fear of failure, we all face something that makes us question our confidence and courage to really really make a change in our everyday routine. Half the time though, it just takes making the first step toward what feels abnormal, and understanding that stepping outside our comfort zone will always be accessorized with fear and doubt… temporarily. But as you continue to take one more step, and one more step, pretty soon, what once felt “Oh my gosh, I could never…” turns into “Oh my gosh, how did I ever live without!”
Because really, being uniquely you is the new normal. And you never know, you just might inspire someone else to let their own light shine too.
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