Once you go gut, you can't go 'but'.

To listen to one's gut/intuition. That's a tricky one sometimes. Some might even say they can't hear it. Don't have it, never have (=ultimate untruth). Think their life is simply too hectic, too busy, too noisy to have the peace and quiet - or even the opportunity - to hear it. That one simply isn't one of the lucky ones to just go through life following one's feeling. But it doesn't work like that. The gut is a whisper, yes. And the more zen you are, the louder the voice of the gut becomes. But you don't ever have to start off with being super zen to hear your gut. The voice is there - and you know it. You just need to dare listen to it, dare believe it - over your brain - when it says something.

If I had to give the brain one word, it would be 'but'. 'But' is the brain's absolute favourite. Because after 'but' comes all the reasons (read excuses); why something simply could not happen, why something would never work, why it is not the right time, why something is just plain impossible, and so on and so on and so on. The brain tells us that following one's gut would be dangerous, risky, full of drama. But it only says that, because drama is the brain's expertise. Drama is actually all our brain knows. Risk assessment. From danger. And danger = drama. But the truth is, that my life has only been drama when I've chosen to ignore my gut and allowed for my brain to take the lead. When I've come up with excuses instead of being brave enough to listen to, and believe, what my intuition is telling me. And all of a sudden everything feels like hell. Nothing runs smoothly and nothing goes my way. But that's not life's, that is not the circumstances' nor anyone else's fault. That is me not owning up to the responsibility of listening to, and believing, my gut.

It's so much easier to believe the brain, isn't it. Because that's what we're taught. That we have this mighty, wise brain. The most important thing. And we hear it so loud, because it is so frigging loud. Drama always is. But life flows in a different way when you follow your gut. Of course, there will always be challenges, but the wave is different. The ease. The evolution. One moves forward in a different way. There's never the feeling of having to force something to happen. There's acceptance. Balance. Harmony. In a very different way.

So what if you tried it. Follow your gut. Wait for the smallest of feelings. That tiny little tenth of a second, when something tells you to do something. You'll know it's your gut talking, if your brain starts going all crazy with reasons as to why you should not follow through with it.


Love,

C

About hairy women.

The world will never change if we don't have the courage to change ourselves. To go out of our comfort zone, to go against and question the norm. There is such great injustice in so many things in this world. So much inequality. And I know body hair might not seem like the biggest of them all. But it is actually huge. It is a great injustice; the woman cannot feel accepted in her natural state, whilst the man is free to do so. The man can walk the street with armpit hair sticking out, and no one would ever think to question or point it out to him. But if a woman has the audacity to do so, the whole world feels they have the right to point out how disgusting she is. How unsanitary, how provocative. How she should feel ashamed.

I started shaving when I was about 12 or 13 years old. I started because I was told (by example, by society, by commercials, magazines....) that my bodily hair is absolutely disgusting. And ever since, I have never done anything not aware of my body hair. I have never been close or intimate with someone and not thought about if the my stubby legs or armpits or whatever were off putting. And if I was newly shaved, I thought about how I luckily was so. I have never put on a bikini, worn shorts or gone to the sauna not thinking about my body hair. Not even if I was alone. I have never raised my arms in front of someone not thinking if my armpits are shaved enough. My body hair has been a prison for me my whole adolescent and adult life. And now I'm looking at Grace, thinking: Is this something I want to pass on? The answer is: absof*ckinglutely NOT. I want her to be free from this prison. To enjoy, to feel empowered, beautiful, accepted - just the way she is. To never have a doubt. But I cannot simply teach her that by telling her, if I don't lead by example, because she will imitate all I do. She already does. And there's no escaping the fact, that if I shave, she will shave. This is actually a major issue for me right now, as it's the most scariest thought ever: to be hairy. In public. In front of Sam. In front of my friends and family. Even in front of myself. 

So the question now is: Will I be a coward and just put the responsibility of being brave enough to brake free onto Grace, or will I step up and be the change I wish to see...

Lovelovelove,

Carolina

Am I annoying you?

I was looking at the view over the city one evening. Moon hanging low, lights in windows, cars passing by. And (once again) it hit me: how completely lost we all are. How we keep busy like ants, going from here to there to here and then there again and then up and then down and omg if we even find the time to sleep in between. We're so fake. We fill our lives with stuff that we force importance onto. Brands, projects, image, our busybusybusyness... And yet, we are so clueless. The truth is, that we are so unbelievably selfish. Rootless even. Because we never stop to think why we are here, what we could do to make our lives actually matter. Because we simply don't want to know. We simply don't want to take responsibility. It's too much work. We like our fake lives. Our safe fake lives. Where we do everything according to the mold and trend of today. We're too safe and too comfortable in doing what everyone else is doing. Asking ourselves why we actually are here, what we actually could and should be doing - it's just too uncomfortable. And what would people think if I started asking myself those questions? That I'm some sort of hippie? It's much nicer (read easier) to want and to have all the "right" products, the "right" brands, the "right" clothes, "right" friends, "right" lifestyle and to put all of our focus on that; the life filled with noise and (hu)man made things, but no actual value. No actual good. No actual purpose.

I asked my Instagram followers today, if they have ever asked themselves why they are here. And do you know what my thought was? "I hope it's not too annoying that I ask a question like that." Silly, but true. Because I know many will find it annoying. But I think a question like that will only be annoying because what it actually does, is hit a nerve.

One should never be ashamed of working on making oneself a better, responsible human being. I ask myself every day why I am here. And so should you.

Love,

Carolina