Rock It.

Let us find out what it is we are meant to do and then let us rock it. Because you were meant for big things. Did you know that about yourself? Did you know that you were meant to share your light with the world? And you say to me: "That all sounds wonderful Danielle but I have responsibilities. I have a mortgage!". And I say yes, yes you do. And you also have a soul.

So how about sitting still for a few minutes? How about getting quiet and asking yourself "What do I love? What brings me joy?"? Start to awaken that sleeping giant of a person within. You know, the one you thought you'd become when you were 5...before the ideals of an unhappy society told you there was no way. Because there is a way. There always is.

Perhaps it's a slow process...a slow brewing of love. You take your time. You make little steps toward your joy each day. Perhaps it means that you become happier at your current job and with your current partner. Or maybe it means you up and leave it all behind. Still another possibility is that your truth lies somewhere in the middle of all that. Only you can know for sure. More happiness, more joy, more passion though...that is the goal. Because these things spread like a virus and surely joy is a virus we all need!

So ask...not your neighbour, not your mother, not your friend, not your mentor...ask yourself. What am I to do in this world? What is it that will uplift me so that I may uplift? And then listen. You may hear it right then and there, or it may show up later. But listen. Pay attention. Let us discover that which is buried; let us unearth it for all to see and let us rock it.

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Hold Back No More

I used to glide blindly. I used to hum along. I barely breathed at all. My mission was "to get through"....to get through the day, to get through the traffic, to get through life. The things I looked forward to were meals, or drinks or house parties or TV shows. While I think that these are all lovely diversions, they are not living. Living is shining. Living is expressing.

My soul bubbles and churns. It is constantly creating and recreating. It waits for me to open my eyes to the truth of who I am. My soul longs for me to acknowledge what needs to be shown to the world. And I am not special. Your soul cries out just as mine does. I have decided to listen.

No longer will I hide out. No longer will I deny who I am. I am a loving, giving spirit with a gift for writing. I am a writer.

Sure I have dabbled in things...sales, customer service, social media, nutrition...but what lights me up, what quickens my pulse, what excites me is writing!

So when someone asks me: "And what do you do Danielle?", I will speak the truth. "Well Bob, I am a writer." There. No more "Uh, well it's complicated." or "Um I'm home with my kids." No! I hold back no more. I surrender to my soul and I tell the unabashed, beautiful truth. I, Danielle Boonstra, am a writer. This is me living. This is what I will pursue until the day that I die.

One of a Kind

I realized today that I dislike the term "nice". I have been called nice all of my life. "Danielle is a nice girl." What does that really mean though? Danielle complies. Danielle doesn't argue. Danielle tells you what you want to hear. Yes, that's what it means.

And in truth, I deserved the term for that is how I acted. Of course I had my brief moments of boldness, but mainly, I played nice. It's a defense mechanism right? If I let you believe I love everything about you, you'll love me back. We'll never fight and all will be well. This is love right? Love is pretending...right? Because if you knew who I really was...if you knew how nervous, how unsure, how silly I can be you would surely run - fast - in the other direction. So to protect myself, to protect our love, I'll be nice. I will be who I think I need to be so that you never find out who I am.

How well did this work for me? In short, it didn't. Most people are smarter than that. They can sniff out insincerity a mile away. What I know now is that I was born to be a certain way in the world and that if I deny that, I deny the world. I deprive those around me of truth, of love and of perfection. And so while I refuse to be nice, I resolve to be kind. It is in my nature to be so as it is in yours. I can be kind and be myself completely. I can be kind and agree with not a word you say. This is how it is. Take it or leave it. And you if you leave it, meh...I love you anyway.

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