Normal, NO thank you

Anybody out there struggling to be normal, please stop and question that…

Are we really here to be someone else's idea of who they think we should be? To conform, be standard, usual and typical as defined in the dictionary. To do what’s expected according to them…whoever they are? Personally I don’t think so. I believe that we are here to discover and create ourselves. And we do this by knowing, understanding, loving, honouring and embracing who we are. I feel we are here to connect to the very deepest parts of our-selves, others and the world around us.

I do not say this lightly and I have had many of my own struggles with “normal” in my life but I am happy to say I choose to keep leaving them behind. I have shed many skins burnt by the fires started by significant others. All layers put upon me in one way or another. What is normal for a child who has learned that there is no-one to trust, no sense of safety in their world? What is normal for a child who has been abandoned by those they need the most when they most need them? What is normal for a child who cannot open his or her mind to learning because day-to-day life feels like a matter of survival and nobody is helping her with that?

I struggled for a long time to know and care about me, to come to terms with a painful childhood and childhood abuse well into my adult life. This affected me in many profound ways, one of the most significant being that I had no idea who or how I could have ever been had that never happened to me…and I will never know, that I let go of a long time ago. Then I went within and found my out the other side.

I have discovered this…One of the greatest joys in my life is a deep sense of connection in my heart and spirit to all that I am because of all that I have been through. I have learned to walk with myself in my darkest hours in a way that paves my path forward with love and courage and lets the healing in. Sharing that journey and experience with others not only sets me free but others also.

So I will continue to live and share my truth, my story, I will continue to feel my feelings, think my thoughts…The good, the bad and the ugly, the beautiful, brave and scary, I will leave no parts of me behind for fear of being judged, I will not hide pieces of me away because others do not understand. Instead I will continue to embrace all of who I am, how I am and why I am…Me.

Choosing to live with an open mind and an open heart and to acknowledge the things that make us different, respect the diversity amongst us and the cherish the gifts of humanity that come in all kinds of packages. I will honour every part of me and encourage others to do the same, and I will never, ever be normal, no thankyou! 

Melanie Lee

Greetings Everybody, A Girl In The World is crowdfunding  :-)

Our project just went live on StartSomeGood!

 Check it out, share with your friends and contribute if you can so we can continue to on our journey…

A Girl In The World is creating a series of children’s books, digital apps and workshops that inspire connection through creativity.

We only receive funds if we meet our goal: 

You can buy a book and support our crowdfunding by

following this link below

A Girl In The World- Start Some Good

My Creative Flight

A Girl In The World…Creative Flight 

The story of my creative flight...When I was a child I felt invisible, like most of the time I didn't matter. It seemed to me as though nothing I thought or felt made any difference to anyone. Half of the time it was as though I didn't even exist, the other half of the time I spent pretending I didn't.

Vast amounts of time and space where filled with imagining myself to be anything or anyone else other than who I was. Feelings of unworthiness and being un-loveable were carried through childhood into adulthood.

Without any way to express myself as a child I felt trapped in the pain and difficulty of being me. I had no way of talking about my thoughts and feelings as a child and felt there was no-one to talk too, nobody to listen. Speaking about childhood abuse would have been so incredibly difficult under any circumstances, but the fact that it was happening in my own family made it all the more impossible.

Through my own creativity I have learnt to tell my story. Creativity is also a way that I forget my story and go to some other place where I find freedom and peace. Sometimes there are words...other times, words are simply lost to me.

I created A Girl In The World because I believe that children need to know they have a voice and a right to speak up and speak out, to understand that they are the hero's of their own lives. Children need to be able to share what’s going on for them, their happiness and joy...their sorrow and their pain and the river of emotion in-between. Empowering children with the tools, space and freedom for self-expression is vital to their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well being.

Creativity isn't in the thing we do, it is inside of us. It is not just in some of us, it is inside all of us. How it comes out to play in our life is as unique and individual as we are...it's about self-expression, understanding and sharing, even if that sharing is only with ourselves...

When I am in creative flight I feel free to be me, to see and hear and feel all of who I am. To be able to share that with others is a gift :-) 

Melanie Lee-A Girl In The World

Into the Deep

Creativity for me is the adventure of living from the inside out. It always brings me back to life when I feel a little lifeless, allows me to I lose and find and lose myself. My creative wandering, takes many paths but always in any expression of it, whether it be writing, painting, drawing, playing, time stands still. I catch up to me and then I feel free to follow myself on another adventure...

Wall of Freedom

This is my loungeroom wall :-)

I decided I needed a wall space. 

So this 2 and n half by 2 metre wall in my lounge room was perfect.

A space to wander and roam,

 through my abstract feelings and expression.

My freedom wall, my place to play.

Play with colour, play with scope.

A creative space to find freedom from self.

Turn off my brain, tune into my spirit.

I love colour, love the feelings it evokes.

I especially love the freedom of abstract painting.

It has more a life it's own than any other, particulaly a wall work of art.

My whole body is involved, bend and stretch, reach for the stars'

This is a work in process, a process that involves play and more play.

Play is such an important part of component of creativity...

and so I give myself to the wall.

A Girl In The World In Africa

So very happy to see A Girl In The World in the lovely hands of the beautiful girls and boys on the other side of the world...seems it's not so far away after all. Let's encourage our children to think globally and see each other as brothers and sisters of the universal family.

Children have the enormous capacity to understand what's fair and what's not, we only need open the discussion and then the pathways for them to help affect positive change :-) Some of the most inspiring stories of sharing and caring come from children living amongst and with extreme poverty....

There is so much to learn from each other. A Girl in The World looks forward to encouraging children to share their thoughts and feelings, have a voice, go below the surface, think of and connect to others, empathise, share kindness and take positive action where and how they can.

To find out more about A Girl In The World please visit

website http://www.agirlintheworld.org

blog http://agirlintheworld-org.blogspot.com

facebook https://www.facebook.com/agirlintheworld.org

Please visit OrphFund and see how you might like to help

http://www.orphfund.org/drupal/

A Girl In The World is here...

Ta Daaaaaaa spring has sprung and brought with it the arrival of

A Girl In The World...I'm so excited and happppy.

Everybody who helped bring this wonderful project to life I thank you.

If you would like a copy please visit the website... 

http://www.agirlintheworld.org/order.php

We will be adventuring out and about soon with launches planned...

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE In Australia.

If you would like us to visit you at your local library, school, hospital...bookstore?

Feel free to contact us and we can chat about it.

info@agirlintheworld.org

You can also visit

 http://agirlintheworld-org.blogspot.com.au

Illustrations For Sale

click here to visit my store

Feel free to check out my other blog...

http://threadsofconsciencepress.blogspot.com.au

Meaningful Media' media that inspires and stimulates creativity and raises awareness. A form of media that encourages the independent investigation of truth and global issues that do and will continue an impact on our future. 

Media that engages in the interests of people and encourages them to express themselves, offering and providing opportunities for them to contribute written and visual idea’s that communicate their thoughts and feelings about personal matters and issues that affect humanity as a whole. 

Media that engages in the spirit, energy and passion of people and guides it towards making the world a better place. That's media worth investigating, highlighting and sharing...

A Girl In The World goes to print...

Hi Ho, Hi HO it's off to print we go :-)

Hooray, I'm so EXCITED to let you all know A Girl In The World

is on her way to printer and it will not be long before I am sending out the very first copies, of the very first edition of A Girl In The World.

Thank you again to all my lovely supporters and beautiful friends.

I cannot wait to get your copy of the book to you.

To those of you who may not know A Girl In The World...

A Girl In The World is story about a girl and and how she see's

and feels about herself, and her place in the world.

A simple story about the ups and downs of life,

remaining true to yourself and remembering to dream.

A Girl in the World lives with an open heart and open mind.

She believes in the power of truth and looks forward to sharing

her adventures with you...

You can purchase a copy of A Girl In The World from

http://agirlintheworld.bigcartel.com

Please feel free to visit the website

http://www.agirlintheworld.org

find out more about the who? what and why?

A Girl In The World website is here...

http://www.agirlintheworld.org

With enormous thanks to Joeart Design, without who A Girl in the World

website would not have become such a beautiful reality.

Take a wander through A Girl in the World website, enjoy,

let me know what you think and feel, feedback is greatly appreciated.

You are now able to order copies of A Girl in the World directly from the website http://www.agirlintheworld.org/order.php.

Please feel free to take a look at more of Joe's work, including his own amazing artworks/digital collages here...

http://www.joeartdesign.com.au

Here's to happy creative days filled with love and adventure :-)

A Girl in the World goes to print...

Greetings Everybody :-)

I'm excited to say that the final touches are being sorted now and

A Girl in the World my first self published children's book

will be off to print.

BIG thanks too many very wonderful and special people for their support

and to everybody who has helped make this dream come true.

Here is a link to my A Girl in the World blog

http://agirlintheworld-org.blogspot.com.au/

Or if you like you can connect with me on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/agirlintheworld.org

A Girl in the World website will be launched very soon.

I will post the link on here :-)

Writing and illustrating a children's book is quite the adventure, one that I will be repeating...because I and A Girl in the World have plans to raise awareness for Orphfund and eco friendly trade and practices, whilst sharing as much happiness, hope, joy, truth, love and creativity as possible.

Staying true to the ethical and environmental considerations is not easy when the world supports cutting corners and trees in the name of greater profit, by supporting me in this you are supporting a person who chooses not to take the easy road but instead to take the eco friendly road and promote it all the way.

It is an eye opening experience to delve into the world of fair trade and eco friendly trade and practice...my eyes are open and I hope to continue to help open the eyes and hearts and minds of the children and adults.

We have a world full of choice available to us, informed and aware choices lead to powerful choices that make a big difference, encouraging our children to make informed choices leads to empowered young people...

Thanks again, much appreciation to you all xox

A Girl in the World goes crowd funding...

3 days left friends, I need to raise my funding goal to print the first run of A Girl in the World :-) I have this weekend left to do it' Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeeee tell everyone, check out the finer details below, you may very well see that it is an initiative that you must support because the world needs all the good it can get...and A Girl in the World is 100% eco friendly children's book with my heart and soul in it, it's true! it's really, truly real and true...!

Click link below to order your copy of A Girl in the World

http://www.pozible.com/index.php/archive/index/5847/description/0/0

The world needs all and every which way we can get, make, create, and take to ensure and support awareness and understanding, kindness and care, for ourselves, each other and our environment...that's what A Girl in the World is all about, that and helping kids help kids and feel empowered to have and use their voice, energy and passion to make a positive difference in the world

By the way A Girl in the World already has a follow up book in the series being created, thank you everyone for you lovely support and encouragement I am ever grateful'

A Girl in the World

http://agirlintheworld-org.blogspot.com.au/

A most fantastic and lovely day was had at a very green and wonderful preschool, filming our song, last Friday. A song written by the beautiful and talented Peter Morgan...

Tis so rich in meaning and loveliness it brought tears to my eyes. The children sang with the beautiful voices and we were very lucky to have a talented and fantastic filmmaker shoot the video for us. I will post the video here as soon as I have it...

In the meantime check out the gallery to see our crowd funding video, images from the book and my lovely organic ( no harmful chemicals ) coloured hair.

The kids loved it and so did all the peak hour commuters on Sydney trains.

Thankyou to all the wonderful people supporting A Girl in the World. It is appreciated very much :-) please feel free to keep sharing it around, every book pre-ordered gets A Girl in the World closer to fundraising goal.:-)))
and helps us launch our first book in the series.

For those who want to support the launch of A Girl in the World here's how, just follow this link and order your copy of the first book :-) www.pozible.com/.../0

A Girl In The World book now available for pre-order

A Girl in the World is now available to pre-order just click the link below

http://www.indiegogo.com/agirlintheworld?a=541237#

A Girl In The World

Available for purchase here...just click the link below

http://www.indiegogo.com/agirlintheworld?a=541237#

A Girl In The World is a series of children's books.

Created to encourage children and adults to share thoughts and feelings, to nourish philosophical and spiritual communication and to enrich emotional connection.

Each book will be Australian made with full environmental considerations and certification, so that it may sit in the hands of children and adults not having cost the earth. Raising awareness for sustainable printing and eco friendly trade and practices will empower children and parents to be part of the solution.

We aim to raise awareness for Orphfund, a wonderful life saving and life changing organisation that champions children's wellbeing and welfare throughout the world.

A Girl in the World is raising awareness for ORPHFUND

Orphfund is a volunteer based organisation helping abandoned,

orphaned and vulnerable children around the world, regardless of race or religion.

They run grass root, self-sustaining, community projects, that provide shelter, nutrition, health care, support, education and training, ensuring all children have a happy and bright future.

Orphfund are purely volunteer based and they are proud to ensure that 100% of any donation will reach children living in poverty.

To find out more about them, the work that they do and how you can help please visit…

http://www.orphfund.org/drupal/

A girl in the world books and stories are designed to delight.

They are about creating a space where children and adults may experience heartfelt conversations and communication about thoughts and feelings.

A Girl In The World books and stories are as much about creating that time and place where thoughts and feelings can be shared as it is about the books and stories themselves. In a hurried world and busy lives, this precious time can all to often be lost to so many other responsibilities.

Providing opportunities that encourage and allow children to connect to, understand and express themselves is vital to their mental, emotional and spiritual health and growth. This helps to foster in them the understanding and importance of their place in the world and validates that their thoughts and feeling matter.

Helping build confidence and resilience in children and develop a healthy sense of themselves is of the greatest importance. It also clears a path for them to develop a strong belief in themselves and their ability to make positive choices. One of the greatest gifts we can offer our children is the knowledge that they have choices, that they can choose to respond or react.

It helps children to understand that they have the power to affect change through the choices they make and to take responsibility for creating and sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings, even if difficult and challenging, in a safe and positive manner.

The Way The Books Are Made-is as important as the WHY.

By creating children’s books that are eco friendly and sustainable with transparency and information as to the printing and production of these books it also opens up the world of possibility to explore and converse with children about the environment and our need to protect it.

Opening up those conversations with children and sharing the vast number of ways we can do that will help them feel pro-active and equip to make decisions and choices regarding the future of our.

A Girl In The World books are eco friendly and certified, printed and produced with full

environmental considerations and certification.

Stay in touch with A Girl in the World here

http://agirlintheworld-org.blogspot.com.au/