Living in in Hong Kong taught me a lot about appearance. What d’you think about appearance? How does it work in your life?
In Hong Kong where appearance was important, I always made sure that my toes were painted, my hair high-lighted, bikini line waxed and body toned!! Life however can have a way of bringing us down to earth… and I remember one day on a trip to Peru, after spending a night in a cave, I went back to my tent to clean up, and giggled as I thought ‘if only my friends could see me now’.
My face was pink and sunburnt from the previous day’s mountain climb. My fingernails were dirty from digging in the ground. I had coca leaves stuck between my teeth, and my tongue was furry. I had vomit in my nose. When I looked in the mirror, I saw a sorry sight. And… I was aware that the judgment brought me down.
At home in Hong Kong, I wore the mask of being soft and put-together. In Peru, I judged myself as looking horrid after that night in the cave. The truth is… I was looking at a woman who is a bit of an adventurer. And adventurers don’t look neat and tidy and put together, except perhaps in Hollywood movies!! Adventurers get dirty, their hair is often messy, they may even get coca leaves stuck between their teeth, and their fingernails can get crusty and broken.
The lesson? We need to see beyond the appearance to claim the significance of who we are. We need to connect with our heart and see that we are more than our appearance – so much more. And … when we have a judgement within us, nothing outside is going to change it.
This is just one of the stories in Polishing the Diamond. When I wrote this book, the world was in a very different place. The truths in the book however are as relevant now as they were then,
Our world is experiencing lots of change, and you may be considering what can you do differently and how you can change. To do that, it’s important to understand how you see yourself now, the appearance of who you think you are, how you see life. If you’d like to explore how you can grow, consider joining our Diamonds group.
Are you willing to see life through the eyes of your heart and explore what is possible?