Foundations? To be seen or to be seen? That is the question. But did you know you can have both?
On a visit I once had to Greenwich, London, to the royal naval college, where I visited the Great Hall, designed by Christopher Wren, I came across the most beautifully painted ceiling, by James Thornhill.
Everyone was looking at this beautiful painting on the ceiling, my neck wasn’t about to break at all. 😂
It was so beautiful, but with the chance to give my neck a welcome rest, what did I notice???…I always have to be different 😩 that is not going to change any time soon.
The most beautiful thing in the room for me, which were beyond beautiful, were the pillars.
The pillars holding the whole thing up.
How many of you out there are the pillars in your life, holding everything up???
Sometimes we overlook the beauty in the strength of foundations, because they can seem boring or not glamorous, but I can tell you these columns for me were beautiful, beyond beautiful.
They were strong, solid, understated, simple and yet full of purpose, and strength.
Sometimes the most invisible thing in the room is the most beautiful. Being invisible can grant us the greatest wisdom, clarity and purpose.
Being in moments of stillness, turning in, is our greatest strength at times, to find our foundations.
So many of us spend our lives invisible, giving, being, supporting others, keeping families and business, and life afloat while trying to maintain some sort of physical appearance. While at times, lucky if we get to go to the loo in peace.
We remain invisible giving to everyone else. But who gives us permission to be invisible, to give to ourselves?
As women we do not give ourselves enough recognition for being the pillars in everyone else’s life. We hold everything together, yet we rarely give ourself a pat on the back, instead we tell ourselves we should be doing more, or we are not doing it right, and we never give ourself the time to be held up, because we think it is weak.
Not being seen and building foundations is where the magic is. But this can seem hard work, boring, slow, and it doesn’t feel like it is reaping rewards. But the strength and beauty that come from foundations is timeless. It creates confidence, safety, wisdom, and most of all clarity.
We don’t have to be the most beautiful thing in the room to feel beautiful, full of purpose and strength.
It’s knowing the beauty is within and is about foundations and true beauty does not exist without foundations, and the ceiling cannot exist without the columns.
We can put all the foundation on we like, to feel glamorous, to be the ceiling that everyone looks at, but if we don’t have our columns and pillars, it is a waste of time, because without them it all comes tumbling down.
Building foundations is the long game, but sometimes our foundations are not built on solid ground. Our columns are not strong and confident because the ground they were built on does not belong to us, and that can be taken away from us at any time. Or the ground we come from was not solid, stable, clear and consistent.
Or maybe you have no ground under your columns and they are built on quick sand and life feels a whole lot of scary.
Foundations that are set for us in early childhood, and are the pillars that carry us through life, but sometimes for whatever reasons, we do not come from solid foundations, on which to build our own pillars, so we spend a life looking outside ourselves for the answers. Trying to be all things to all people. Trying to be the very thing we sprung from, which turns into shaky foundations. Sometime in life we have to go backwards and create foundations that support us and help us grow. Foundations that create a life where we can thrive.
Love Sharon x
I love these moments together
PS The Great Hall is in the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London
If you want to create foundations come and check out love on the inside.
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