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With all the new subscribers to the Wild & Free Blog due to the recent giveaway, I felt inclined to take some extra time this morning to write a little more than usual. Long posts like these have become a rarity over the past few months due to the high volume of Wild & Free Jewelry orders, but I’m hoping to make them more of a habit and all the recent love on the Festival Gypsy Giveaway has inspired me to do so. This post is not only about a rockin’ tie-dye kimono, but also about something very dear to my heart. I hope it inspires you in one way or another.

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It’s been a while since I’ve visited this particular spot in the mountains and I was elated to discover blooming bushes of yellow flowers everywhere!  I couldn’t help but immerse myself in their blossoms. Flowers make me so happy (as I’m sure everyone already knows from my endless poppy field photos a few weeks ago). I wandered the mountain side, investigating new flowers and saying hello to the bounty of lizards that scurried across my path. This tie dye kimono from Saltwater Luxe was the perfect camouflage with the blue sky, purple mountain backdrop.

This is where I feel most at home, wearing clothes I adore, alone in an environment radiating wildness and genuine freedom. It feels so honest and pure.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of self love and learning to treat your mind and body with care. I’ve been on a documentary binge for the past few months, and while it’s slightly traumatizing, it’s also opening my eyes to the way we’re socialized, especially as women, to embrace insecurity on a day to day basis. We grow up believing we aren’t pretty, we aren’t good enough, and it’s NOT okay.

Most businesses, especially those deep within the corporate world, depend on an individual’s insecurities to profit. A large portion of the fashion world is like this, constantly perpetuating the idea that you won’t be loved or accepted unless you buy this product, dress a certain way, lose weight etc. This element of modern day culture is something I experience on a day to day basis, and the power this mindset has over individuals is something I’m passionate about changing. Sadness and insecurity are crippling feelings. They truly tear you apart, down to the very core, and no one should have to feel this way. Especially at the expense of corporate greed.

As a brand and blogger I realize I have a part to play in sculpting the way others view fashion and ultimately themselves. My goal, since day one, has been to create a movement within the fashion world that focuses on uplifting individuals, rather than putting them down. Imagine a world where mainstream culture taught us self-love, confidence and respect for nature, rather than self-loathing and materialism. We would all be more empathetic and understanding individuals as a result and the world would beam with happiness.

So, step one, towards removing yourself from that toxicity, is learning self-love. A large part of my experience with this process has been adventuring in nature and spending immense time alone. I used to be someone crippled by insecurities, and I let my destructive thoughts about myself shape my entire world. All it takes is one negative thought, to feed a monster of negativity that will send you spiraling out of control. However, the good news is that the opposite is true with positive thoughts. Even if you don’t fully believe it at the time, if you start filling your mind with positivity, waves of love will begin to cleanse your mentality.

Instead of focusing on things that you aren’t, and allowing society to sculpt your self perception,  focus on what you are. YOU ARE an individual radiating unique qualities that no one else has. Being unique is beautiful. Being unapologetically yourself is the most beautiful of all.

Begin to tell yourself that you are enough, you are loved and you have the power to create happiness within your own life. If you repeat this enough, you will begin to wholeheartedly believe it and your world will change for the better.

I hope these words help heal hearts suffocated by insecurity, like mine once was.

I love all of you. Thank you for supporting my art and reading my long rants. Happy gorgeous Saturday!

xx

WHAT I’M WEARING
SALTWATER LUX – FESTIVAL TIE DYE KIMONO
TURQUOISE & TOBACCO – CANYON NECKLACE
TORCHLIGHT JEWELRY – BIRD BOLO
ONO JEWELRY – RINGS
VINTAGE AFGHAN CUFF