Faffing, Pottering And Plans For Our Victorian Workers Cottage Of 1851

 Oh my! I have so many things to share. I've been busy as a bee. I've had an outpouring of little Women/Mermaidling bespoke painting orders, and in between painting and fine-tuning the manuscript of The Tale of Sawyer Lamb, I've been labouring on endless undertakings at the cottage. From cleaning the chicken coop and run to clearing out the old garden, and sewing some new work (1850's) dresses I've been quite active. Since becoming severely dehydrated, I've been convalescing. Whilst sitting in my bed, I took a gander at a few Instagram feeds from the explore page, and I rightfully cannot fathom how these youthful mums have the stamina and ability to churn out so much content. I even made a small mention to my mum yesterday while having tea, and she retorted with," Raquel, you used to be that hyperactive when you had your four small children too."

Rachel Hollis- Girl, You Should Apologize

[The day this news broke, I shared my heated feelings about it on my podcast. If you'd like to listen to that instead, here's the link. It's full of profanity, so consider yourself warned if you have a visceral reaction to cursing. Writing is more suited for me, so I wanted to share my thoughts about this in written form, and now that I've cooled down a bit, I was able to piece my words together like a normal human being. Smile.]

"The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." 

I knew it. I saw this divorce coming several years ago. The New York Times best-selling author and Disney dad that everyone thought had the best marriage {except for me, apparently,} are, yes indeed, you guessed it, divorcing. All one would have to do is pay close attention to the added and amped up hugging, kissing photos, sweet talk, curated marital banter and fake pictures for social media to see this trainwreck coming head-on. Why do I know this so well, you ask? Because I also lived this type of marriage with my ex-ill suited mate. He was notorious for this type of behaviour. These folks care more about what the world thinks and sees than what is truth staring down the barrel. It's artificial. And whereas I don't have anger towards my ex-ill suited mate or Rachel Hollis at this juncture, I feel it's necessary to be blatantly open and transparent with my friends {aka readers}. It's also a way of being truthful with myself, which is essential to my well being and expansion. Rachel Hollis and a person such as my ex-ill suited mate, aren't going to give you the truth.  They are going to give you what they want you to see. I'm honest with folks, and even if that makes someone uncomfortable, I'm still going, to be honest. I'm not here to sugar coat a narrative for anyone. The emotional cost is too high, and I am surely not in the business of allowing myself to be silenced all for the sake of "thinking about others feelings." I have learned early on that mentality unequivocally does not work for me at all.

We can always look back and reflect on why some things trigger us and others do not. A lack of transparency from others has been in my craw for some time, and I'm sure it's still the residuals of my previous marriage. I'm moving past it, but I wanted to point out some variables to grow from this experience. You know me all too well, and one thing I'm always doing is leaning in on what everything in life is here to do, which is to teach us and help us grow, even when It's me being pissed about a random writer in Texas. 

I know some folks love Rachel Hollis; however, I do not. I am sure she's a delight; however, from my personal experience of chatting with her on numerous occasions, she came off a bit snobby and acted as if I was beneath her. That turned me a bit, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. My mum taught me manners. Many of the women who follow Rachel noticeably  {in my opinion} have low self-worth. What's in my craw is that Rachel preys on weak-minded women from backgrounds where It's not socially moral to be a confident woman. Rachel's demographic is similar to her fathers' Pentecostal congregation, which is fueled by feelings of superiority and that notion of " lean on me, as I'm a much better and smarter person than you. And you need me {and my books and seminars} to get to where it is that you're going mentality.” Here's what happens internally to these so-called fans. Women put too much importance on folks like Rachel Hollis by placing them on a pedestal which is further detrimental to their self-worth. Women do not need a woman like Rachel Hollis to achieve what they desire. They need to turn that love onto themselves and believe that they also have the same level of importance. If Rachel was confident herself and really intended to encourage women of their own self-importance and personal power, she would lift these women to all greater heights. It's the case of I'll lift you until I see you growing, but you can't grow more than me. The next time you notice this in another, take it as a warning. We all are a product of higher consciousness {God/Source} just like every human being in the world. No one stands superior to us.  Her books are specifically placed in the Christianity section of all bookstores. This is because most folks who act like they have all the self-worth and confidence in the world most often do not, and they can fool women of faith with that narrative. People with the lowest self-esteem have this pretend confidence and amplify it by appearing better than others and stand on moral high ground. Where most folks "get on" by thinking or acting as If they are better and have all of life figured out are actually the ones that have the least figured out. You know the old adage, " Those who scream the loudest have the most to hide." If two things get my goat, it is hypocrisy and inauthenticity. Rachel Hollis is these two things in a nutshell. Honestly, and how great of a writer is she if she spent an entire chapter {in an attempt to be relatable, in which she has now forfeitted} on how she passes gas and has bowel movements. {Someone posted that book excerpt on youtube.}That is not good writing. It's daft. 

We are never going to get all of life done and complete. This is not what Pentecostal preachers (Rachel's father) teach us.  They pretend they have all of life figured out, and now we common folk should come along for the ride. If we can see life like that, as never-ending and it's all a process that continually unfolds, we will be much happier people. We don't have to have everything figured out, and that's the sheer beauty of it all. We didn't come to get it done, but the world would have us think otherwise. Let us begin today by taking everyone off of the pedestal and begin looking inward. I suggest you place yourself on the pedestal.  

Whereas Rachel is liked and admired by many, she is like everyone else; and no respecter of persons.  It's time women start believing in their own power and abilities and stop thinking other women like Rachel Hollis are better, more knowledgeable and superior than them. This world is full of powerful women. I am going to spend my life in this service. I will inspire millions to know this for themselves too. We are all Mermaid Goddesses. 

I've got to be honest here. As I write this and edit, I've lost nearly all of my steam for this post. So I'll end it here with the most significant takeaway that I learned from this news. Which is that I now know I am going to write much better and more prolific books than Rachel Hollis. My books are authentic and transparent. I'm not going to placate an audience for the sheer desire of selling books. My books are honest and, most importantly, laced with self-confidence,  empowerment and practical tools for achieving all of life's desires. My books are joyful and optimistic. They are not downtrodden, off-putting, nor sewn with self-importance and inferiority. We must be reminded of our very own power. To lean on ourselves and our own Mermaid Inner Being and leave the rest. It also showed me where I stand vibrationally with my "so-called report card." I have grown massively from where I stood emotionally just a short time ago. Comparatively, I am growing by leaps and bounds, and truthfully that's what this whole earth life experience is for me, to expand. Trust yourself and make being happy your only intention. 

I would have really appreciated it if Rachel Hollis were to have simply stated her truth and took accountability. I think that's all folks have ever wanted.  Still, she didn't take that road. If she continues living in a cloud of mist, she will surely self sabotage her entire career full stop.   

Most affably yours til my next swim, Raquelxxx

How I Use Beatrix Potter And Tasha Tudor's Philosophy To Manifest My Dreams

"Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish. And what a privilege even to be alive. Despite all the pollutions and horrors, how beautiful this world is. Supposing you only saw the stars once every year. Think about what you would think. The wonder of it!"

— Tasha Tudor