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Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Sometimes the only way to protect your heart is to share it with others.

SLAY on!

State Of Slay Heart

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! The struggle makes you stronger.

SLAY on!

State Of Slay Brave

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Bitterness and resentment only hurt one person, you.

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Choose

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! When you speak your truth you are doing it for not only yourself, but to show others it’s safe to speak theirs.

New blog goes up Sunday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Voice

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! You have two hands, one for helping yourself, and one for helping others.

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Hands

Held With Invisible Hands

I talk a lot about how STATE OF SLAY is a community of like-minded people who love and support each other through their journeys. We talk about carrying a torch for each other, lighting someone’s path when it gets dark. And, I talk about walking next to you on your path as I walk on mine. But we are also all held by invisible hands. We are supported by all the hands of the many SLAYERS around the world, we may not see those hands, but they are there, guiding us, giving us strength, loving us, and cheering us on when we are victorious, or just need a hand to hold. Those hands are always there.

I was thinking about that the other day. I feel you all with me, all the time. Even though we are in different time zones, different parts of the world and on different parts of our paths, we walk as one, and as I often say, no one gets left behind.

Our hands are always stretched out for those in need, they are there to embrace one another in greeting, or in love and support, they hold the hands of others to help when it’s hard to speak, or share our truth, our hands can’t be broken, they make a chain, a link, to all of us, and that chain continues to grow.

I walked most of my life alone. And I felt alone. When I think of all of you out there I know I’m not alone, you are all with me each day and I can feel your hands around me, I hope you can feel ours too. And maybe that’s something to focus on, when we feel anxious, nervous, unsure, visualize those hands with you, holding you, giving you strength, because they’re there, and just by seeing them in your mind, they may give you exactly what you need in that moment.

We share a common goal, we share many common experiences, and we walk this shared path to becoming our best selves. We can’t do that alone, I know I can’t, I tried, and, it’s so much better to do it with others you know, you love, others who understand. Those outreached hands can also help us to learn. We can learn to trust again, or maybe for the first time, we learn that those hands are there when we reach for them, even when we don’t, they are always stretched out in our direction, we can depend on them, and we learn that we can stretch out ours, that it is safe and that we feel good when we do it. Those hands connect us to others, to old friends, to new friends, to those like us, we see that we are not alone, that who we are is OK, that we’re more than OK, that we are incredible and we should celebrate that.

Each and every one us is held up by invisible hands. Whether from this community, or others you may belong to. We are here to support one another, to lift each other up, to share this journey when it gets tough, and to show those who are struggling that it gets better, brighter, and that there is hope. All of our hands reach out to yours, we are always here, even when you don’t see us, we reach out to you, and hope you’ll reach out to us too. There is room for everyone on this path, and sometimes just to get by, it takes a lot of hands. SLAY on!

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you feel supported either here within our community, or within one of your choosing? If yes, why? If not, why? If you don’t, what can you do to connect with others, or at least one person, who can walk with you and share your path with you? Is there something that stops you from connecting? What is it? Is that the truth, or is that a story from your past that is no longer valid? Only you can make it valid today, if it’s an old story, let it go, try something new, reach out to someone who you admire, who’s walking a path of being their authentic self, who will take you along with them. The only person we hurt by not reaching out is us, we lose every time, it is when we learn to overcome our fear to connect with others that our world opens up, it gets brighter, and we see those hands reaching out for us. I challenge you SLAYER, reach out to one new person this week, talk to them, meet up with them, and share with them, you can never have too many hands.

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Our Darkest Parts Can Bring The Most Light

Those parts of us, the darkest parts, those parts that we may think we should hide, the parts we had to fight the hardest to overcome, or are still fighting to overcome, the parts where we may have almost lost ourselves, those are the parts that can bring the most light. I used to be ashamed of those parts. I would hide them at all costs, never sharing my truth with those around me, even when asked. I thought they made me a bad person, weak, or not capable. It took a lot of pain and suffering, alone, to realize that maybe me hiding those parts wasn’t the best course of action, because hiding them was only leading me down one path, and that path had a dead end.

For me, I was fortunate to have gotten to myself to a place of such desperation that I finally had to let those dark parts out. Share them. And find others who were also working to overcome their dark parts. It took time, and practice, learning to let go of the fear of what I thought you would all think of me and just be honest about where I was coming from, what I was thinking, and what I had done to get myself there. What I discovered is that as I shared my dark parts they felt less dark, because I was able to bring some light to them and learn to make better choices to shift my path onto a better one. And as I continued to share, and continued to get better, I started to see that even though I still have a long way to go to get better, I was still able to shine the light I had on those who were just starting their journey. To them, I had made great strides from the darkness and was living positive healthy life that they had only dreamed of. A lesson that, no matter how far down we may think we are, there is always someone else who may be, or feel, lower, who can be helped by your experiences, courage and story so far. Even on our darkest days, we still have something to offer.

As I got better and many years passed, and, my light got brighter and brighter, I realized that talking about those dark parts was not only essential for my continued growth, to remind myself where I had come from, but also sharing them was like a beacon to those still sitting in the dark. I say this all the time, if someone who has never been through darkness the way we have gives us advice, or offers some suggestions, we are most likely not going to listen or take them, but when someone has come from the places we’ve come from, and offers up what they’ve done to get out, that is something we’ll connect with, and may inspire us enough to take action in our own lives. Never think that your past is something you should hide, or shouldn’t share. On the contrary, share your past, your story, your dark parts, because you never know who can be helped by it, and I guarantee, you will.

Today I make a point to share my dark parts. I share them to show others that there is hope, a solution, I celebrate those dark parts because they give me the opportunity to give back, to be stronger, to share with all of you. Those parts of us in the dark are the parts that connect us to others, and we give them permission to share their dark parts which may in turn shine some light into those dark places. It is the darkest parts of us that, when we share them, give off the most light. Share your truth. Let those dark parts shine bright.

SLAY OF THE DAY: How do you feel about your dark parts? Do you keep them hidden? Do you share them with others? If you don’t share them, why don’t you share them? What are you afraid of? Has someone shared their dark parts with you? How did that make you feel? Did it make you feel that you weren’t alone? That you had a connection to this person? You sharing your dark parts can do the same, not only for them, but for you as well. When we share those parts of ourselves that live in the dark, they get brighter, they loose their power over us, and can bring comfort to someone else. It’s important to share our truth, not only for ourselves to but show others that they are not alone. Let yourself shine bright, share the dark parts and allow yourself to be honest about your journey, that honesty will not only help you grow, but will give someone else hope they can as well. SLAY on!

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Slay Say

Good morning SLAYER! Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.

New blog goes up Tuesday, until then…SLAY on!

State Of Slay Share 2

 

Communication Is The Key

Communication is something I had to learn on this path. It was not a skill I had growing up, I was too full of fear to speak up, to reach out, or to dare share my truth. There were so many times, looking back, when I was asked about my feelings, or what I thought, where I stood there, paralyzed, and couldn’t find the words to express how I felt. I would get embarrassed, but the words would just not come out. They would get all scrambled in my head, and just get stuck there. It was out of an act of desperation that I was able to communicate my need for help, and share with a trusted friend what was really going on in my life, and that I wanted it to stop. That same desperation was the catalyst for me learning how to communicate with others. I had kept my truth so bottled up for so long, that my life now depended on me speaking up.

Communication can be difficult. We may fear of being judged. We may not find the right words to rightly express how we’re feeling. Or we feel like we don’t want to be bother to someone by unleashing our problems on them. All of these self-made obstacles need to be overcome before we can cultivate healthy, long-lasting relationships, and truly find our way on our path.

For me the first obstacle was the fear. Fear that you all would judge me for not having it all together, for getting myself into the situation I had, fear I wouldn’t say the right things, just plain fear I couldn’t even identify. So, I surrounded myself with like-minded people. People who had been through what I was going through, or were going through it as well. That helped with the fear a bit. But it was by stepping out of my comfort zone to find others like me that I was able to get over the fear. I had to just jump in. It helped to have others around me who were sharing their truths with me and others, I saw that they weren’t being judged, in fact, the opposite was happening, they were being supported, encouraged and loved, so I stepped out of my comfort zone a little further and started to share, and, I received the same response. It became easier the more I did it, and now, I don’t even hesitate. The more we do something, the more it becomes our new normal, and, we start to make healthier and better choices for ourselves.

I learned that being honest was always the best route to go, now, I did have to learn how to fine tune that a little bit, learn to read the situation and the people involved, because just blurting out my truth could do more damage than not sharing it at all. I had to learn to be compassionate to those around me, to not withhold what I needed to say, or how I felt, but to make sure I wasn’t doing more damage by sharing my truth in maybe a blunt or sudden way. At the beginning, and sometimes I still do, I would think how I would want to be told the information I needed to share, to think about how that person might feel once I shared what I needed to. I had some misfires at the beginning, but that’s to be expected with anything new, it takes time to find the right tone, and to never let your needs rise above what someone else is able to listen to.

Communication really is the key to most of our problems. It’s about being honest, but also compassionate for others in our lives, about making sure you’re intentions are clear, your expectations are clear, and that your voice is heard, but, never the expense of anyone else. When we communicate we learn about others, we invite discussion, we are open to suggestions, to new solutions, and we are our authentic selves. Learning to communicate brings us closer to people, it strengthens our relationships and bonds, and, it strengthens our self-worth and self-respect. Communication is the clarifyer, it allows us to step out of who we once were and into the light of who we are meant to become. SLAY on!

SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you have trouble communicating with others? How so? Why do you think that is? What are some bad experiences you’ve had with communication? What are some good? Of those bad experiences, what could you have said or done in terms of your own communication that would have improved that situation? What stops you from doing that? I challenge you SLAYER, this week, to practice your communication skills. Look for opportunities to communicate better, clearer, and allowing more of you to come out and share with those around you. Find your voice, and share your true self, it’s within that practice that we begin to find our way on our own path to who we are meant to be.

S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you

Slay Talk Live Video

Hey SLAYER! Not able to join us tonight for SLAY TALK LIVE? No problem, here’s what you missed!