Throwback Post: You’re Doing it Wrong

**THROWBACK POST**

*Written sometime in mid to late 2017*


(from a June 2020 Walk – Taken by me)

The overriding theme of my childhood was that I was doing it wrong and not to trust myself. Therefore, I have struggled all my life with low self-esteem and incredibly low self-worth. Believing I am not worthy of having a beautiful and peaceful life, full of unconditional love is something I have always thought was not something I deserved.

I have spent the last 20 years learning to like and love my self, learning who I truly am, and for 2016 and 2017 walking into, connecting with, and releasing this darkness.

Indeed the children of our world and the future of our world strongly depends on not conforming children to the way it’s “supposed” to be done and always has been done. They come into this world (and we did too) knowing who we are, knowing the gift we brought with us, and trusting our self, our intuition. I feel each and every one of us came here to share Divine Love in our own unique way … to share loving kindness and compassion for one another, Nature, and animals.

August 2020 Update: This was originally written to add to another post that was published about the same time. It’s a letter written to my son, Thomas. Go here to read the original post and why I felt moved to add this additional note.

Dear Thoughts: I Want To Be Happy With Myself

I am in a much better place these days. I feel this is mainly due to the courage of walking into what I needed to do to heal myself. I still have days where I feel I’m doing things wrong, making wrong decisions, days full of guilt and shame. However, I’ve learned how to process and feel these emotions. They don’t ever truly go away. I’ve learned how to go to the core of the issue, let myself feel what needs to be felt, with the knowing that it is okay to trust myself.

(I recently changed the hosting company for this website, along with all other websites I manage. In the aftermath, my draft posts got deleted. Oh no! Fortunately, they were in the back up and could be reinstalled. However, the original draft dates were deleted. I’m taking that as a sign that it’s time to do cleanup and housekeeping.)

Blessings,
Camilla

See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

“Words of Alchemy”, published December 2019, is a free-verse poetry memoir covering the last 6 years of my life. The poetry of nature, the poetry of healing, the poetry of appreciation, the poetry of love, in one beautiful book.

Amazing news! My 18 year old daughter, Lillian Darnell’s debut book, “Where Would You Fly and Other Magical Stories” was published January 2018. Learn more and order here

Wonderfully exciting news! My 14 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer is published. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

One Way I Surrendered To My True Colors

Fear ~~ Control ~~ Manipulation ~~ Conditional Love ~~ Smallness ~~ Victim

These six have been my friends throughout this life. I unconsciously believed they were my protectors, my power, and what allowed me to live this life as I thought I wanted to experience it.

In December 2016, I had an intuitive knowing that the year 2017 would bring with it a Shift. That has been happening since January 2017 and I can hardly keep up with all that is shifting for me. It’s happening incredibly fast and many times it is absolutely not fun. It is exhausting as I am BEing in the depths of my own darkness.

I am becoming more conscious to all of the ways in which I had been living unconsciously. I am remembering, connecting, and releasing memories and events from my past; pivotal things that happened at a sweet and tender young age. I am awakening and discovering the costume I have worn most of my life (excluding as a young child).

I am discovering a freedom, an untethering, a surrendering …. a Liberation.

This is a brick received at the last Alchemist Theatre event. A brick which we were to imprint a word or words onto that came to us during an alchemy meditation. Our instructions were to write the word(s) on the brick and to destroy the brick in an earth friendly manner.

Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #5 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #4 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #3 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #2 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #1

The word that came forth for me was “surrender”. That didn’t make sense to me until the next day when I realized I was to surrender these six, old, and dear friends listed above.

Prayer to the brick energy and holder of the dear and no longer needed protectors:

I Love You All.

You have been there for me
when I needed you most, or so I thought.

You saved me from failure.
You saved me from embarrassment.
You were the vehicle that
helped me live and experience
this life as I thought in my best interest.

I Love You All.

Yet, now I realize
this was unconscious living.
And I now see that
you were not true friends.

I mistakenly called you all in long ago
to keep me from hurting.
I am conscious now. I have awakened.

I send you off with deep love
for why we both thought you were here.
It’s time and I am ready for my
true colors to shine through.

I surrender you all
to be transmuted into
Unconditional Love, Courage, Greatness,
Allowing, and Saying Yes to Life.

Be free my friends. I release you.
Welcome True Colors.
And so it is.

Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #13Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #12Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #11Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #14Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #15Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #16Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #19Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #18Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #17Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #22 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #21 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #20 Camilla Smashing Brick 5.29.17 #23

I had no idea how emotional I would become while crushing the brick. That’s the only reason I included all of the pictures Lillian took. I connected with anger, felt it, and released it. And, I felt incredibly lighter and more joyful afterwards. Hallelujah ….. xoxo

After I wrote this post I came across this poem I wrote in December 2016. WOW!

Swirl Shell Washoe Lake 2017 #1

Come, Be with me.

You are drawn
to me for a reason.

There is a time
and a season
for all that you
will remember.

You will experience
a pivotal life shift,
That opens the portal
to divine knowing.

The place you
finally allow
your self to rest.

To prepare for
the sharing of
divine love
in a way
only you can share.

The mind is quieted,
Let what must fall away.
Removing your self
from the many
directions you
have strayed.

All to come forth
as you came here
to come forth,
Sharing divine love.

Come. Be with me. ~2016 Camilla Downs, Lessons from Nature

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Wonderfully exciting news! My 10 year old son, Thomas Darnell‘s book, Biggest Little Photographer has arrived. Be inspired! Learn more and order here.

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Z is for Zigzag

(Excerpt from my book, “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance”)

Conventional wisdom says “do it this way, this is the way it’s always been done.” I am the type of person who questions conventional wisdom. I pause to think about whether the way it’s always been done is really the right way for me and my family.

Conventional wisdom says that the best path for Lillian is to attend traditional public school to benefit from what she’s entitled to according to federal laws and what’s established in her IEP. Well, that worked for us through fourth grade, but it doesn’t work now. You see, I simply believe with all my being that this little lady will not follow any conventional route in her life, or in her career. I believe she will be self-employed, and I don’t believe she will reach her full potential staying in a traditional public school. Of course, I will accept whatever career path she chooses, but for now, I choose us to zag instead of zig.

I’m not saying that we should always zag when others zig. But, that we pay attention when something inside us is saying, “not so fast there, find a different way,” or “don’t keep doing that.” We may hear these messages, but dismiss them due to doubt, fear, or laziness. As these messages bounce around in our mind, we find that we have invited another person’s voice telling us we are crazy for thinking that way.

Happy and successful people didn’t get where they are today by making the same choices as the masses. If you take time to study them, you will find there’s something different in the way they think, their attitude, and how they make choices.

One of my kids made a statement once that we are poor. I explained that I don’t agree and here’s why. We may be broke at the moment, but we are not poor. I consider us to be rich because of our relationships with one another, our adventures, and the joy we experience. I believe there’s a fundamental difference between being poor and being broke. Poor vs. rich is all in how you look at it. Being broke is temporarily having no money. Being rich depends on how our attitude and thoughts perceive our reality. How do we measure “rich”?

It is most important to me that I try to not take myself so darn seriously. I fully understand that we have some serious situations to deal with, especially as parents of children with special needs. I’m not advocating that we ignore serious medical conditions. I’m only suggesting that we become aware of our attitudes and thoughts concerning serious matters. Do your best not to dwell in the past, or get stuck in the “why” questions. Accept the present moment for what it is. Really and truly listen to your gut. Listen even if you don’t understand why it’s pushing you in a certain direction.

The bold overriding theme of this entire book is the ability to accept ourselves, listen to our intuition, and live in the present moment. That’s why it is repeated throughout this book. I know I need to be continually reminded of this. I forget. Acceptance, courage, flexibility, and our view of life all comes back to how we think. Our emotions are an expression of our thoughts. Take it slow and have patience with yourself.

Tip for the Journey:

Awake each morning and realize with awe that you have been given a very special, unique gift. You have been given a precious gift of another full twenty four hours to make your own. Twenty-four hours to do with as you choose, to experience joy and happiness, and to share with those around you. I truly believe the more we share joy and happiness, the more it will spread. Every day you get another twenty four hours to work toward your dreams and goals, and another day to enjoy the heck out of while you’re on your journey. I like to refer to this as a Sunrise Gift and no two Sunrise Gifts are the same. You choose the nature of the gift and what you will do with it. Make the most of your Sunrise Gifts.

Heartfuly Inspired,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

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Special Needs: Lilac’s Angel Visit

Lillian’s class participated in NaNoWriMo and she chose to write a collection of short stories. Reading her notebook brought my eyes to sweating … xoxo

Here’s one of them:

Lilac’s Angel Visit
Written: Lillian

Once upon a time, Lilac’s prince had died and Lilac was a poor queen but one night, Lilac had been visited by Lilac’s prince angel. He had said, “Respect all other angels like you do with me.” And so her father, stepmother, stepsisters, and their princes’ angels came along with Lilac’s prince angel and they had said, “Keep your confidence and hopefully you will strengthen your courage.” Then one night they stopped visiting and left Lilac alone because she had enough courage to be super-duper happy. To this day, she’ll tell you to keep confidence and you will soon build up courage to be super-duper happy.