What if we were take our shoes off? What if we were to walk each day out in bare feet, with nothing between our 'soles' and the ground we walk on called life? What would it feel like? What could you experience wiggling your toes in the sand, walking a path of hot coals, dancing on your fathers feet, skipping along the road, or feeling the cool green grass under you, and ultimately, leaving an imprint wherever you go?

Walking in bare feet is humbling. It denotes having your feet firmly planted on the ground. It represents a connection with the earth and within your core. You feel the earth move under you and respond accordingly. It is powerful and peaceful all at once.

What if you were to look at living out your life in such a way? That you would choose to be firmly planted as the person you were made to be, living out your life authentically with those around you? What if you were to shed the 'shoes' in your life, all of the facade and masks in your life, and instead embarked on taking the journey each day in wonder of who you really are, in enjoyment and trust that who you are matters JUST AS YOU ARE?

For the first time in my life, I am recognizing that when I strip away all of the beliefs, the fears, the uncertainties, the unfamiliar and all too often untruths of who I should be and instead just breathe and live and BE who I am, I'm a pretty wonder-filled person. JUST AS I AM. And when I live each day out, choosing to be authentically me in conversation, in relationship, in myself and in the moment, I am more alive than I have ever been.

This woman made a huge impact in my life at an early age. I loved to sing. I was singing before I could talk, head phones around my ears all the time and I had the unfortunate habit of putting music before my school work at all times. I can remember listening to, memorizing and singing every song of hers I could get my hands on. Any contest I entered I would choose one of her songs and it wasn't because the tune was so good, and it was. It was because I felt her, I felt the emotion in her music, and her lyrics always spoke to me. There was a passion and love in every note that came out of her and I felt it. I threw myself into that. I felt like she was my soul sister, and I loved her. She was my first concert. Blew my mind to see her on stage, moving and moving us with her. I can remember sitting on the swings in a park with her sound coming through my ears, me belting along with her, no idea what I sounded like and didn't care. I was singing along with Whitney...and it felt joyous.

Today, as the reality of her loss hits home, I feel even more saddened. What a loss.

As I sit here pondering the feeling associated with losing a life so precious in this world, I can't help but think, what is the purpose of all this? What comes through loud and clear for me is this one simple truth - we are not at all what we see on the outside. For all intents and purposes, most people could believe that this incredibly talented, beautiful woman was loving life. After such a passionate and painful journey with Bobbi Brown, she had come through it, stronger, ready to live life to it's fullest. With faith by her side and an incredible mother devoted to her, a fan base determined to support her, money to have whatever she wanted, influential friends to see her through any challenge, she is gone. Not at all what we would believe. How was she suffering? What did she believe? Why?

We should grieve her life and the incredible hope and joy she brought to others through her music. Grieve, yes. But we need to learn too.

What can we learn from her life? Like Whitney Houston, we are not all what we seem. So many are suffering, whether from lonliness, loss, from the belief that we are just not good enough. From constantly comparing ourselves to others to the lies we tell ourselves. From the way we ignore one another to the self centered way we choose to live our lives. So many suffer in silence. Life is hard. More than ever, we need to believe in one another. We need to connect. We need to love and reach out, and laugh together. We need to listen to what another person is saying, really listen, so that we can hear all of those silent truths that don't come out in words and actions. We need to SEE one another. Really see. when we do this, we lift one another up and the suffering is lessened. Diminished. And if we begin to do this, maybe, just maybe, it will become contagious like a wild fire and this world will change. Be renewed. we need to get real.

I choose to honor the life of Whitney Houston by committing to myself and to you to continue to do the work I was made to do. To share hope. To bring hope. To add HOPE.

Whitney, I am sending you all my love now and praying you have found peace wherever you are. I know you are singing with the angels. You are gone...but you will never be forgotten. xoxoxo ~ V.

I accept myself completely as a human being. I accept that I am here to learn and grow, and I accept that I am learning and growing. I accept the personality I've developed, and I accept my power to heal and change.

I accept myself without condition or reservation. I accept that the core of my being is goodness and that my essence is love, and I accept that I sometimes forget that.

I accept myself completely, and in this acceptance I find an ever-deepening inner strength. From this place of strength, I accept my life fully and I open to the lessons it offers me today.

I accept that within my mind are both fear and love, and I accept my power to choose which I will experience as real. I recognize that I experience only the results of my own choices.

I accept the times that I choose fear as part of my learning and healing process, and I accept that I have the potential and power in any moment to choose love instead.

I accept mistakes as a part of growth, so I am always willing to forgive myself and give myself another chance.

I accept that my life is the expression of my thought, and I commit myself to aligning my thoughts more and more each day with the Thought of Love. I accept that I am an expression of this Love. Love's hands and voice and heart on earth.

I accept my own life as a blessing and a gift. My heart is open to receive, and I am deeply grateful. May I always share the gifts that I receive fully, freely, and with joy.

~ Author Unknown

For a very long time, I went through my days completely oblivious of my own pattern of behavior. From the time I became an adult, I made it my purpose to build into others, working in various management and leadership roles, building teams and building into teams and individuals with the mission of having them see and believe in their own potential and their own selves.

Little did I know I was dishonoring who I was by not doing the same for myself. In fact, looking back, I can see very clearly that I avoided myself quite easily by pouring so much of my time and energy into others growth and success.

Ah, but why?

Then some years back, my life was touched and changed inexplicably, when I met and hired a young woman who I felt was called to be a member of my then team. Having been challenged and beaten down so much in her life, I was face to face with someone who truly did not want to see herself and worse - she felt she was worthless.

In the years that passed, we together worked towards her self discovery and the building of her self worth. I felt honored and yes, very challenged by this journey and at times, even worthless myself for not being able to simply take the pain away. I was looked up to. I was loved.  I was believed in!  All this and more from someone else and yet I can honestly say it didn't even occur to me to honor myself in the same way.  Needless to say, this relationship became what I can only describe to you as one of the most fulfilling and wonderfully important gifts in my life to date.

Then something happened.

In one of our many conversations, deep and full of challenging emotion, she looked at me and asked me why I never talked about myself, my life, my struggles and stories. I'd never been asked this before. She shared with me that in order for her to feel more  needed and loved, she needed to be a listening ear to me, she needed to be included in my journey. She needed the relationship to be both sided. And little did I know at the time, I needed it too.

I didn't want to be seen. I believed that in letting her see me, really see me, my fears, my self-doubt and at times even self-hatred, that she would see through me and find me a fraud, a fake, and therefore lose all respect and love for me and in me.  Turns out, it was quite the opposite.

In allowing this incredible individual in - in my heart, in my mind, and in my life - I offered her the ability to shine and to speak into my life, offering me her unique and beautiful perspective into my story. What a humbling experience.  I've grown by it. I shine by it. Go figure! :)

When we allow ourselves to be truly seen, all of what makes us who we are, we allow ourselves the ability to become something much greater than ourselves. We share in the journey through relation and connection. We are no longer alone. When we eliminate the cloaks and the masks, we feel lighter, while all the while building into someone else.  It's freeing.

I was able to lose the fear, the ego and the limiting self-beliefs so that I could be FREE! Free of judgement, free of living in the past, free of the lies we again and again tell ourselves. There is no better thing than to be loved authentically as you, wholly and wonderfully you. Nothing.

And really, I believe this is what we are created for. To love one another, love one another, cheering each other on and encouraging one another towards success.

TO BE SEEN and TO SEE.

There is no greater honor.

What does this mean, TO BE SEEN?

Authentic Movement says this:

"The premise is that through the reflecting eyes of an other we come into conscious being, we grow a self. For one to grow in a healthy way, s/he must be witnessed by a loving or “good-enough” other." From Suzanne Lovell’s Learning to Love: How Art Therapy and Authentic Movement Transform Being.

For me, TO BE SEEN means that I allow my walls to come down and am allowing myself to be vulnerable to another living being. In doing this, I am then allowing all of who I am and all of who I want to be to be exposed, in the light.

By choosing TO SEE another, really see them,  perhaps we first need to allow ourselves TO BE SEEN. It is an act of trust and therefore an act of love. To be human.

And as a coach, I am given this honor daily in the hopes and dreams and beliefs in each individual and group I am privileged to work with. Thank you. Thank you.

My request of you today?

BE SEEN. And SEE. It's so worth it.

Being a New Year, so many times, like many others do, I find myself wanted to begin anew and put an end to bad behaviors and habits, put more effort into giving back and generally try to be a better person, day in and day out. This is admirable I think, this effort and conscious decision to always improve upon one's self and how we choose to live our lives, but in doing so, I sometimes wonder if we're over thinking the whole thing.

It occurs to me that if I remember one simple important fact, that my life will not only improve in quality and quantity, but that the world as a whole will improve exponentially as well. This simple important fact? IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.

IT'S NOT ABOUT ME.

Let's not mistake my meaning though. I don't mean we do not have responsibility for ourselves, our own life and our own actions and needs. We do. But so much of the time, is it possible that we might be placing the focus and attention, our energy and personal power in the wrong place? Who or what do we honor by fighting with our own thoughts and beliefs? ** What if??**

~ What if we were to focus on considering the other person's perspective instead of our own in time of conflict or disagreement?

~ What if we were to put the other person's feelings and needs before our own in times of choice and opportunity?

~ What if we were to serve without the expectation of being served in return?

~ What if we really listened instead of using that time to form our own words we will defend ourselves by?

What if? What 'What-if's' come to mind for you?

_ “During our lives...we experience so many setbacks, and fight such a hand-to-hand battle with failure, head down in the rain, just trying to stay upright and to have a little hope.” ~ Lance Armstrong_

I imagine that by focusing on actioning these opportunities and others, and taking the focus off of my own personal wants and beliefs, brings a sense of freedom. And in choosing to live my life in such a way, what more do we gain as a whole?

Hope... Trust... Self Belief... Possibility... Growth... Joy... Connection... Peace... and the list goes on... All of these things I have the opportunity to gain when I make the conscious choice to get out of my own head and simply live in the knowledge that it's not about me.

Life is meant to be shared. Good and bad, joy and sorrow, beautiful and ugly, life is all of these things and we are part of it all. It's not about me and it's not about you.* It's about US.* Together. Different but the same. And when we really get that and live in such a way, we grow beyond our own understanding. How cool is that?

More to come...in the meantime, I look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas around living beyond the you. Help me to grow beyond my own understanding. :)

_* Your voice, your song, is a sound to be heard and shared, intertwined with all of the other voices and songs created and alive in and around our world. Together,all of our voices lifted in song, create a symphony that can conquer all sorrow, all pain and all self doubt. ~ Veronica _*

While this can be both a challenge and a motivation to create results, improvement, and forward momentum in our lives, most must admit it seems more like an excercise in futility and something more to berate ourselves over as we say goodbye to the following year. This cycle must then beg the question, why do we do it? While we could spend time and energy trying to answer this question, I think it best we instead focus on how to actually set ouselves up for success in the coming years' new years resolutions.

In order to create success for your life, consider the following...

Envision your New Years Resolution

~ First, Begin with the End in Mind...What is the VISION you have for your life over the next year? Ask yourself, who do I want to be and what do I want to achieve by the end of this next year? Create a Vision Board to help you build your vision into something to remind and motivate you as you meet each new day.

~ Create Realistic Goals...You can't get to the end without first taking the journey to get there. Change doesn't happen overnight if it's meant to last. By creating realistic goals that are in alignment with getting you closer to your vision, you will feel more successful more often and more fully in control of your life. Once you reach the end and meet the Vision, you will feel a true and real sense of ackomplishment, knowing the change happened because of your commitment and dedication to the journey.

~ What Strengths and Values do you have in your arsenel that will help you succeed?

~ Live in the Moment...By choosing to take the journey moment by moment, day by day, you can see where you've come from and learn in the moment you're in. Celebrate the little victories as you learn and grow towards your vision.

~ Enjoy the journey!! If you can't enjoy working towards the lasting changes you want in your life, you're already setting yourself up to fail. Take the time to look around you, see the progress you are making, no matter how small and be proud of yourself! Life is hard enough without making it harder on yourself. You are wonderfully and uniquelly you!

~ NEVER COMPARE!! Don't waste your energy comparing your goals and yourself to others. This is your life and what you learn and grow by is yours alone to take. Use your energy towards your own power.

~ Seek Accountability...by taking the journey with someone else who can keep you accountable and your perspective fresh and real. This is where a Life Coach can truly be a simple yet effective key to your success. To take you from where you are to where you want to be. To take your fear and anxiety and turn it into power and faith in yourself!

Following these simple and practical steps can help ensure you make this years resolutions not only successful, but enjoyable as well! So what are you waiting for??

Need some support in creating realistic and attainable New Years Resolutions? Connect with me here by email or pick up the phone and let's discuss how I can help you get set up and moving forward in your journey!

Happy New Years Everyone!! Here's to every success and hope for 2012!!

To RESPOND is to be CONSCIOUS of your thoughts and actions. Respond to whatever situation you are met with. Take the time to stop and really hear what is being said, be aware of your body language, think through how you want to answer, what you want to say or not say, take a deep breath and RESPOND. Calmly. Assertively. Patiently and fully in control.

To REACT is to be UNCONSCIOUS of your thoughts and actions.

So where does your REACTION come from? Your judgements of the past have created your beliefs and habits of the present, creating your reaction in PAST situations. IMPORTANT to note here, if you let your past rule your present, you will react to situations when they arrive. Your past decisions will recreate the decisions of your present. In other words, the HABIT of reacting to the past will happen again and again, never changing. In order to change a habit, you need to make a conscious choice to change it in the present, the now. Consciously. Do NOT React to whatever situation you are met with by answering quickly, without conscious thought or consideration. Do not REACT with aggression, impatience, defensiveness or high intensity emotion.

STAY CALM AND CARRY ON.

Remember too that you are not who you WERE. Who you were is in the PAST. You ARE who you are now, in this moment, every moment and choice made before this one bringing you here. Now. Every choice offers the ability to move forward with positive choices and personal growth. This is true for every single person in and out of our lives. With living comes experience. With experience comes learning. How we use that learning and apply it to how we live our life is a choice.

Who are you NOW? What have you learned in the living that has brought you here, to this moment? Respond to every situation, knowing this confidently. You are NOT who you WERE. You are more.

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending." ~ Maria Robinson

For many of us, this is cause for reflection, and so here we are, looking back at the last year...But what are we reflecting on?

For myself, I can't help but reflect on my life and what it has produced over this time period. I have always been one to strive, not towards success or power, but to make a difference in the lives of those I connect with along my journey, to hopefully impart on another person their importance in this place we call our world. I've no idea if I've managed to be a success in such a way, but that's not really all important. It's true what they say, that it's not the destination, but the journey that counts.

If you want to know the past, to know what has caused you, look at yourself in the PRESENT, for that is the past's effect. If you want to know your future, then look at yourself in the PRESENT, for that is the cause of the future.
-- Majjhima Nikaya

I think the thing we need to be very mindful of this time of year especially, is that while reflection on our lives is important and worthy, it is infinitely more important to live in this moment, in our present. I say this because all too often, when I speak to people around me in life, in business, in relationship, there is a common truth that comes about when we exchange what those reflections have brought about. That what tends to happen is that we focus on all of things we have not yet done, all of the lost dreams, promises not kept, goals not achieved, fences not mended, etc etc. In fact a sea of all the so-called failures in our lives will come rearing up and we are left disillusioned and unimpressed with ourselves. For whatever reason, it is our human nature to focus on the have-nots instead of the haves and so we never measure up. We are our own worst enemies.

As this year comes to a close and you walk into Christmas, a season of hope and blessings, I'd like you to consider this...

That everything in your life is not by accident. That everything your life has produced has brought you here to this very moment. That every day is new and what matters is now and the choices you make for your life today. How will you choose to experience Christmas this year? What do you have to offer those around you, those you know and do not know? What incredible traits that are yours alone can you choose to share with someone else - your friendship, your outlook, your experience, your hope and your love and everything that makes you uniquely and wonderfully you.

There may indeed be things in our lives we are not proud of in our life. There may be a huge part of us that wishes we could go back and have a 'do-over'. But perhaps it is not our place to wish. Perhaps it is our place to fulfill wishes.

And so, as 2011 is slowly drawing to a close, I want to extend to you an invitation to allow me to fulfill a wish of yours. Should you have a desire and a need to reflect on something in your life, reach towards a goal, discover a purpose for your future and would appreciate the support and guidance of someone who can help you get there on your own wings...reach out and connect with me. Together we can make it happen.

Until January 31st, if you have never had a life coach before now, you will receive 3 FREE 1 Hour coaching sessions from yours truly. This is my gift to you. *

HAPPY CHRISTMAS everyone. Thank you for sharing the journey with me. 

~ Veronica

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson

 *NOTE - Gift offer extended to new clients only. Redeem by emailing veronica@yourtrueimage.ca and requesting Christmas Gift offer. All sessions must be used within 3 months of redemption date. Offer valid to January 31st, 2012 Cannot be combined with any other offer.

So imagine my surprise when I came to this A-Ha moment of realizing a little while ago, that in those times when I was feeling lost, kind of sad even, unmotivated, and alone, there was a direct correlation with the lack of connection I had in my life during those times.

What am I saying? I'm saying that because I was not honoring my value in connection, not honoring who I know myself to be and what I know myself to need, I created a loss in my life and all of those feelings that came with it. That the moment I created connection again, I became renewed, strengthened, happier, and motivated to move forward in this journey called life and my own path of daily discovery and challenge.

I've been reading Paulo Coelho's new book, 'Aleph', and while I am just getting into the meat of what this story holds and all of the learning there is for me to find within it's pages, I have already been reminded of the importance of human connection there in those pages.

This powerful and successful writer, seemingly outgoing and ever the teacher and life learner, himself came to realize that because he was not out there connecting with others, was all at once feeling lost and unsure of the meaning of his journey.

Do you ever ask the question - 'What is it all for'? I think many of us have. We are constantly searching for meaning in our life, for purpose. We spend so much time looking too far ahead or too far back, we are unable to see the path right before us and all of the things we are missing along the way. Things like people.

Just as Coelho discovers that he needs to get reconnected with people, those he knows and those he does not yet know, so am I realizing the same. And so he makes the decision to dive back into the art of living and learning and laughing among individuals and groups, as am I.

In choosing to look at the path before me, I can clearly see how I am dishonoring myself by not living in the moment and honoring my values now. And so I choose. Consciously CHOOSE to get back out there and reconnect. It's like food. I'm feeding my soul and my heart by way of connection.

So what does connection mean to me? Laughter. Debate. Heart to Heart conversation. Peace. Just being in the presence of another person who might SEE me and HEAR me and that I might SEE them and HEAR them. Pretty powerful stuff.

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Just as Paulo Coelho and 'Aleph' are challenging and reminding me of who I am and what I need, so I would challenge you to look at your values in the same way and honor who you are in action. Who are you? What makes you tick?

In connecting with others, those who already know and love us, those we have yet to discover and allow others to discover us, we create the ability to be once again inspired to live this life in a fresh new way, challenged in the power of others thoughts and beliefs, motivated by the will, the story, the conversation and the discovery that can truly only come through connection.

What is Connection? It's LIVING!!

And so today, I will connect with a dear friend who challenges me to see life through the artists creative eye. And on the weekend, I will connect with a dear friend who challenges me to see life in a way where I'm forced to look back at myself in a powerful and positive way, putting back into me what I daily love to put into others. And in the week that follows, I will connect with family that is my heart line, connecting through love and laughter and the knowledge that we share so much more than any word or act can describe. And today? Well today and every day, I connect with my soul mate and lover, my husband and my best friend.

I Will...

Will You??

“Why you? Because there’s no one better. Why now? Because tomorrow isn’t soon enough.” ~ Donna Brazile

Many believe that these types of syptoms and more are a cause of depression, a disease many are dibilitated by every day from the stress and anxiety that every day life places on an individual. And depression isn't fussy. It will take anyone, successful or not, job or not, family or not, marriage or not, friends or not...Depression does not pick and choose. It sneaks up on you when you're not looking and waits for a catalyst to come along before it pounces on you and leaves you half dead inside. However, consider this...that perhaps, just maybe, it's not depression at all.

Today, there is more pressure now than ever in life and as I look on social networks that allow others to share their thoughts and feelings in the moment without the accountability of someone seeing the face or emotion behind them, many are asking for more hours in the day, for Friday to come sooner, are looking for new jobs or a job at all, and more than ever, I'm seeing and hearing about all of the ways we are having to wear many hats and masks in each and every day. We are all things to all people. We connect in person less and less, therefore we hide more and more. We laugh off things that actually hurt us, and speak in half truths and boundaries become something of a more of a wish than a rule. We do this and more in order to get through the day, not realizing that we are losing ourselves little by little, more and more, as each moment passes and days pile on by.

One could believe that this is depression, and it may be, as shown in the above definitions given. But there is another aspect to consider here, one that does not require the use of a drug to numb and squash it.

It's a simple question...Do You Know Who You Are? As I ask this question again and again, more and more are saying NO...a resounding NO! I don't know about you, but this scares me. And it makes me sad. But it doesn't surprise me. However, it can be corrected and can hugely change the direction your life is going.

While we shift and change daily, the one key component here is that we need to be willing to meet ourselves each day. And in doing this, we honor ourselves in a way that we would hope others would do as well. Think about it like this: Try to imagine that in every conversation, every meeting you have, the person or persons you are speaking with never look you in the eye. They don't listen to you. You don't seem to matter. You're dismissed. How's that workin' for ya? In essence, this is what you are doing to you. It's actually quite disrespectful, wouldn't you say? And it is absolutely dishonoring you. Simply start there. Meet yourself each day. Make the decision each and every day to STOP for a moment and SEE yourself. Talk to you. What do you want today? Just today? What one thing can you do for yourself today that if you stopped for even 15 minutes, could put back into you in a small but powerful way? Think about the things that make you tick. What do you value in your life? What are your non-negotiables? Just pick one thing and start there. And slowly, maybe not right away, you'll begin to see a shift in the level of stress and anxiety that has been overtaking you up to this point. The tables will turn and YOU will be in control of your life once again.

Seem too simple? Not sure where to start? Having a personal life coach can help you make this happen and support you in ways you never imagined. Connect with me today for a FREE discovery session and let's get back the life you are meant to live. YOURS.