“No one else on this earth can do that for me.”- Stacie Mountain

Garden of Roses

Stacie stood near the front of the room. She’s not physically commanding, but something distinguishes her. It’s noticeable, even at a glance. That glance is merely an introduction.

When Stacie began to speak it was as if she whirled a lasso to fill the room and then began to draw it, along with everyone else, in.

“As a very young girl, and well into my 20’s, I honestly bordered on hatred of myself; hatred of how I looked, hatred of my body, hatred of how I acted, hatred of how I showed up in this world. I was constantly trying to obtain ‘something’ that was always out of my reach, whether it was a number on the scale or people pleasing. I wasn’t happy. I needed more,” she said.

Then she dug deeper.

“One of my early memories is that of being scooped up by my mother in the middle of the night. Our house was on fire! Once outside, away from the flames, my mother kept me wrapped in a blanket and held me, saying ‘everything will turn out fine.’ But, it didn’t.”

Not only did her step-brother burn their home down, he would chase her around the house with scissors. There was no stability in her family life, even after her family soon shrunk to just two again. This made her unsure of herself and led her to marry early; to another person unfamiliar with a stable, loving family. Not surprisingly, not long into this marriage, she abandoned it and soon found the bottom of her self-esteem. 

She took a long, deep breath, exhaled and continued her monologue, “My life has been a long, arduous process spanning nearly four decades, but I can honestly say I have learned to stop hating myself, and I’m learning how to replace it with love and compassion for myself. Now I see a one-of-a-kind, perfectly imperfect masterpiece, me.”

Stacie went on to say that she, “knows her story is nothing out of the ordinary. I could find you thousands, or even millions, of examples of people who, like me, have learned to love themselves over time.” 

So, why is she willing to share her story?  It’s because of the perspective she’s acquired while going through her years-long journey.

“We need to love ourselves, right now, no matter our flaws!” 

Stacie likens life’s journey toward self-love to tending a garden of roses, “it is up to each person to cultivate beauty from within.” 

“No one else on this earth can do that for me. So, I will choose to do things that are good for my body, my health, and my soul. I will feed each of them, and watch them flourish and create the beautiful woman I am destined to be,” she admonished. 

Stacie still stood at the front of the room. She’s not physically commanding, but something distinguishes her. It’s noticeable, as is her message. It’s possible to love and care for yourself, while, at the same time, improving yourself, as if tending a garden of roses.

Watch a current segment of my television show on American Dream TV:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VrtKwVnGHVODrj4B6cP5IbPCjEJfM5NZ/view?usp=drive_link