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Sep 29
in Inspirations

Lipstick, Kisses and sharing the LOVE!!!

Lipstick hasn’t been one of my things. I’m a ‘natural beauty’ so I’ve been told… so the make-up thing actually hasn’t actually been a ‘thing’ for me until the celebration Gala dinner in the biggest ballroom in Paris at the end of our epic Peking to Paris car rally. I just couldn’t wear my beautiful gown/frock without any lippy!

 

Yesterday, I experienced something quite wonderful after wearing my lipstick and giving a kiss on someones cheek. But first… my journey to the realms of lipstick!

 

So .. the week before we left for Beijing I found myself on one of those raised stools in a specialist make-up store… not in a department store because the perfumes make me sick… but in a painting shop for faces. A beautiful girl called Ebony was so gracious in helping me navigate this new world of make-up. I came away with 2 lipstick colours – ‘Your Majesty’ and ‘Hibiscus’. Soft luscious colour in a shiny gold container. I just couldn’t decide… oh – and a pencil not unlike the pastels I use in my art studio. I was sure I would be able to colour in my lips on the celebration night!

 

Well… the lippy worked in Paris and so many people were shocked at how I looked and commented on my amazing smile. It was kind of fun feeling the freedom to smile and share my lips again with the world. To expose an intimate part of myself and be bold with my lips.

 

You see… I’ve been very self conscious of my smile for many years now. I used to be called ‘smiler’ at university and until a year or so ago, joy and laughter shone from my lips. I had a bit of a rough trot for a while and I think I forgot how to truly laugh and smile from my heart.

 

I had surgery on my lower lip and the nerves are damaged and is quite numb. I have little feeling in most of my bottom lip. My lip looks different. With a huge chunk taken from it. It feels different. It’s hard to speak clearly. I dribble a bit occasionally. I wanted it to be back the way it was. Full of joy. Kissing feels different. I wanted it to feel the way it felt before. It didn’t, doesn’t – and never will. A huge chunk is gone and I can see the scars and stitches which run down deep inside down to my gum. My lip was never going to be the same as what it was; and it was time to deal with that – in Paris with my lipstick on.

 

So… in the marble bathroom of our hotel room I outlined my beautiful lips, with the chunk out and its scars… and decided to truly laugh with joy again. I exposed my lips. My lips shined.

 

…and every now and then I wear lippy… to celebrate my lips with my history and acceptance… and yesterday I wore my lippy for one of our lunch catch-ups with my mum. We had a lovely time. I felt good.

 

On the way home I stopped and I saw an elderly lady accidentally drop the contents of her bag on the ground and I went to help her.

 

We had a little chat and I gave her a hug and a kiss goodbye. I noticed I smooched a huge big lipstick kiss on her cheek – because I was new to the mwwwahhh type of kissing I think is the code for kissing with lipstick… and I went to wipe it off. She held my hand and said “No.. don’t wipe it off dear…. I want everyone to see that someone has loved me today.”

 

So… ladies.. (and for those men who wear lipstick)… celebrate your lips….share your kisses, leave them on cheeks, and let people know they are loved.

 

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About the Author: Julie
I am a Journeywoman. I live my life as an explorer. An adventurer. An Observer. An Artist. There is no differentiation between how I live my life and the art that is an expression of it. It is through my experience adventuring the unknown, that I learn more about myself. My aim through this connection is to live where my expression is fully in alignment with the essence of who I am. “In the field of Fine-Art Photography, Julie stands apart from others with the way she sees the world and expresses her connection within it. Julie Stephenson’s photographs are sublime. Her work is an expression of her deep connection; and a gift to the world.”

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skeinydipping

I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have t I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have touched; have loved; have created; have worked; have nurtured. My hands.   

I looked down and saw on my wrist and fingers items from around the world which have so many stories; items which have all been created from the heart and made by the hands of others. 

I looked down and saw beautiful yarn. Yarn which has been handled carefully through shearing, dyeing, skeining, balling; and now being knit in my beautiful hands. 

My hands are one of my gifts. This year I’ve really missed the touch of another with my hands, to feel the heart of another through my fingertips; but so grateful and love my hands which touch and feel; work and play!

What do you see when you look at your hands?

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Knitting a fabulous  #slipstravaganzamkal by @westknits .
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#gratitudeattitude #westknitsarethebestknits #westknitsmkal2020 #knittersofinstagram #knittersoftheworld #knittersofaustralia #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #handmade #handmadejewellery #fromtheheart #createeveryday #livetotravel #healing #healinghands #creativehands
My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories. I’ve had adventures on all continents. Slept being rocked by the sea; felt the ice on my skin in both polar regions, and felt the silence of the deserts. I’ve walked stone steps in monasteries at altitudes where each step I’ve taken consciously and mindfully; focussing on treasuring every molecule of oxygen in the rarefied atmosphere. 

COVID has paused those adventures, but I draw upon my experiences as I navigate adventuring my days in a different way, on our ‘home range’. 

I recall my steps in Tibet as I walk through our bushland. I am mindful and conscious of my surroundings. I listen. I feel. I feel happy here. I am content.

My new stories may not hold the same experiences of connection with others; and may not be of extreme challenges or crazy things  (which I am rather prone to doing! 🙂 ) but they are not less wondrous… as I smell the warm eucalyptus waft from under my feet. 

I weave my stories, and this story is of my personal journey on my daily walk through our bushland. 
You can see some of my other woven stories on my website - link in profile. 

How do you express your life’s stories?
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#weaversofinstagram #indiedyedyarn #indiedyed #rigidheddleloomweaving #ashford #inspiredbynature #contentcreator #emotionalbalance #homedeco #handcrafted #makersmovement #creativelifehappylife #wellbeing #travellerlife #journeywoman #weavingaustralia
“....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those “....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those times in your life when you need a meditative and healing knit. Assookinakii (ass-s-oo-kin-uh-k-EE) means ‘healer’ in the Blackfeet language, thank you to Cut Woods School in Browning, MT for the tradish language support”. –  Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers 

Knitting this beautiful cowl by Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers for @sistersunitedmt ; WAS healing. 

As my hands gently formed the repetitive stitches I reflected on the word ‘Assookinakii ‘ - healer. I am a healer. I don’t understand it. It’s something unseen. Something within me which has been recognised by Ngangkari and ‘clever men’ here in Australia; and shaman and healers around the world as we travel. This recognition always has caught me by surprise; as I seem to walk a line between two worlds. 

As the stitches slipped from one needle to another and the beautiful colours of @spincycle_yarns revealed themselves; in the pauses between the stitches I heard a voice whispering to continue to seek connection with the natural world and listen deeply. 

What has been healing for you this year?
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#healingjourney #meditationpractice #dyedinthewool #assookinakii_cowl #knittersofinstagram #knittingaddict #livinglifetothefullest #happydays #shaman #healer #healersofinstagram #listentoyourheart #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #knittersgonnaknit #knittersoftheworld
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2017 All photographs created by and property of Julie Stephenson.