Welcome to Woman of Worth!
January 2007
In 2004, amid much turmoil and chaos in my life, I realised a fundamental truth… that despite a loving and supportive husband, who loves me always and in all ways, and even after 17 years of marriage at the time to this incredible man who is also my best friend… despite three amazing children who love and accept me unconditionally… I felt unworthy and undeserving of these wonderful, loving and supportive relationships. And that maybe, just maybe the turmoil and chaos that was almost a guaranteed constant in my life at the time, was a result of these personal negative feelings and emotions.
Even as my family and friends, and even strangers told me how much they appreciated me, how grateful they were for my sharing of myself through the writing I publish on my websites… even as I was told daily how much I am loved and supported, I questioned my own right to these incredible blessings.
After two successful business ventures, it took only one disaster to completely shatter my self-esteem and confidence, and led me on a journey of deep, inner personal reflection. I chose to face inner fears, to challenge worldly conditioning, and to question whatever experiences had distorted my personality and belief in myself, making me question my worth… I re-read what I had written through the past years, I shared my deepest emotions with my family and friends, I stripped myself naked …physically, mentally and emotionally in the early hours of the morning in an effort to accept who and what I am, unconditionally. I reflected on my life from the time of my birth… and discovered that because of a childhood filled with trauma, pain, loss and sorrow, spanning the first 20 years of my life… and even though I had healed emotionally through a process of forgiveness… forgiving others, forgiving myself and releasing and letting go… and that even for years after, I had enjoyed a happy and blissful state… then, I still struggled with feelings of being undeserving and unworthy.
In a moment of intuitive insight I realised that all I had done, simply wasn’t enough.
That the process of forgiving and letting go I had experienced, whilst a deeply healing and transforming experience was only half the cycle I needed to complete… and that I needed to be proactively appreciative and grateful for all the experiences that life had given me…
The pain and sorrow as well as the happiness and joy…
the tears and the laughter…
the failures and the triumphs…
the abuse, hurt and heartache as well as the healing, health and blessings.
The loss of my own innocence and death of loved ones,
as well as the gift of the births of my children,
and wisdom discovered through the maturity of experiencing the gift of the lessons life offers, and that I have a blessed life.
Accepting all of my life experiences unconditionally… every moment…
Accepting myself, who I am, what I do, what I have experienced, unconditionally… and being grateful for every experience, every breath, every second.
So for more than two years… I made notes, wrote articles for my websites, shared through talking, letters and emails with my family and friends… and then in the early morning of the eve of my fortieth birthday, (September 2006) I took those notes and I wrote the Woman of Worth poem as a gift to myself.
It actually took twenty minutes… when in actuality it took forty years!
It was a profound experience…
that I embraced, snuggled in and cuddled around myself for a week…
then shared what I had written with my husband,
whose only word with tears in his eyes was Wow!
The yummy feelings and joy I was experiencing was just too much to hold within and had to be shared… with my family and friends… those who had such an incredible influence on my life and who had touched my heart… and so I sent them the Woman of Worth poem… then printed the poem and pasted it into hand made journals as gifts for my friends. Who encouraged me to make more, who supported me by ordering the Woman of Worth journals as gifts for their families and friends, and who have encouraged me to continue, making the Woman of Worth journals available to anyone who wants to buy one.
The Woman of Worth poem is Dedicated
To my Husband Dave,
My Children… Wesley-John, Jordan-Ross and Jessica-Leia,
and four incredible, special friends, Bev, Mads, Dawn and Laina
each Women of Worth who have shared my journey…
And to three Wonderful Women who bought
my first journals even in excessive quantities,
Sheila, Louise and Nadia…
who also gave me unconditional support and encouragement
and held my hand during some of my most challenging times.
Thank-you for your acknowledgement, encouragement and support.
Mostly, thank-you for your love, acceptance and friendship.
Love and Laughter
Always in All Ways
Mands
27 Wow Notebooks!
thursday 9th July 2015
I’m very happy to share, that I recently celebrated my 27th wedding anniversary (in May 2015), and I can honestly say, I love my husband more today than I did when we were first married, even though at the time it was inconceivable, that I would love him any more than I did in that moment. *Smile* Read More
