Be someone

“All I ever wanted was to be someone”

– Mark Wilkinson –

 Last night I had the pleasure of attending a secret gig of Mark Wilkinson‘s deep in the heart of Sydney’s Surry Hills, at a very beautiful night held by the lovely people at High Tea.

The inconspicuous building of 342 Elizabeth St could quite easily have been missed, and once inside, you needed to navigate a host of staircases and corridors which took you through a maze of concrete graffiti emblazoned walls. However, what was waiting for us, was something quite different.

When we got to the second floor, we were met by a candlelit doorway and greeted by our lovely host for the evening.

After having our names signed off on the guest list, we then found a table full of different sized antique teapots with a myriad of different teas on offer to us. Chai, Peppermint, Camomile . . . It was perfect, as I have decided of late, that I’m really not that fussed about drinking anymore.

Once our teacups were filled with delicious hot tea, my friend Kerry and I, had a chat with Mark and his manager and then found a comfortable spot on the floor and settled down to enjoy his dulcet tones.

The setting was beautiful. It felt as if we were in someone’s living room. We were surrounded by about 100 other like-minded people, sitting on a rug covered wooden floor, with candles in front of us fairy lights to our right and lanterns hanging above us. Utter bliss, for a fan of Mark’s music. The most wonderfully intimate venue, in which to enjoy his music. He opened with the delicately beautiful ‘For the first time in years‘.

I had been invited by Mark’s Manager to review the gig for the blog Timber and Steel to help spread the love for Mark’s forthcoming new album and Australian Tour ‘Let The River Run‘. I’m super excited for the launch on 9th August.

He played a few songs from the new album, and a few older songs, including my personal favourite All I Ever Wanted. It is a song that I have already written a blog post about, I’m Alive. And is a song that was one of my anthems for 2012. It kept me going when I had doubts about having left the Corporate World in order to follow my heart and dream of starting my own business.

And the sentiment of the song seems to be so very timeless for me. He sings ‘All I ever wanted was to be someone, more than just a shadow from a fading sun. And you tell me I’m here, and you say I’ll survive, but I’m searching for more, to know that I’m alive.’

And it isn’t so much the fact that I wanted to necessarily be someone, but I wanted to do something worthwhile with my life. And the funny thing is, that when you focus on doing something worthwhile, you inadvertently become someone.

I write this blog to share the spiritual and life learnings that I am gathering as I continue on my journey of enlightenment, conscious growth and awakening. I also write it to inspire people to live a life full of love. To fill it with love for yourself, love for others, love for what you do and love for where you are. Because love is the highest vibration that we can emit as human beings, and when we are emitting love, only good can come of it.

And so, the thought for the day is ‘Be Someone.’ But in order to be someone, all you need to do is follow your heart. I put of starting a blog for so long, it isn’t funny. I was so frightened that no one would want to read it, worried that what I wrote wouldn’t be of any value or noteworthy, how wrong I could have been.

When I got over all of my fears and just felt the fear and did it anyway, only amazing things have come of it since.

I choose to write about things that I love, things that inspire me, things that hold me to a higher standard and vibration. I write my blog to help me be the best person that I can possibly be. And by doing so, I hope that I inspire others to do the same, by being the example myself.

I have always loved music. I had a radio show at University and I wrote for our University magazine, reviewing albums, gigs and interviewing bands. I loved it, and I was good at it. I never followed that career path, because I didn’t think I was good enough or knew enough. I always thought that there were people out there better suited to that than me. Once again, how wrong I could have been.

Within 4 months of starting my blog and writing about things that I love, I have been invited to write a gig review. Some would say that is a coincidence, I would say that is the magic of the Universe. This is how the Universe rewards us for following our hearts and doing what we love. In turn, the Universe has come to know me as someone who writes and blogs, and someone who loves music, and in particular Mark, which is how the invite came around.

So, my question for you today is this, if you wanted to be someone, be known as someone, who would you like to be known as? A writer, a painter, a photographer, a teacher, a philanthropist, a social entrepreneur, a coach, a mentor, because you can decide. You can decide who you want to be and how you would like to be known.

And the thing I have learnt is this, it is better to decide who you would like to be, rather than allow others to decide that for you.

Sending you love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Mark Wilkinson

Here’s a fantastic cover that Mark does of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car

Peace starts within

“World peace must come through inner peace”

– Dalai Lama –

I went to see the Dalai Lama in Sydney yesterday with my friends and this was one of the messages that he had to share with us. Peace starts within. 

After he had given his talk Beyond Religion (Ethical Mindfulness in Every Day Life) on the benefits of living ethically, he answered questions for about 45 minutes and one of the questions that came in was “How do we, or I, have an impact on today’s world, when there is so much violence and religious tension? What can we do as an individual?”

And his answer? “Real change, at a global level, must come from the individual. Not through the United Nations or European Parliament. . . we as individuals must start.”

And he went on to say “World peace, must come through inner peace.”

And this is something that has taken me a little while to get my head around. However, through my spiritual journey of late and from reading a fair amount on Buddhism, some of the Dalai Lama’s books like ‘The Art of Happiness’ and most recently Mr Eckhart Tolle’s books, the penny has dropped.

Our thoughts create our reality. Therefore, if we are not at peace inside and in our head, the reality that we experience will not be peaceful.

And it’s very interesting, because the more calmer I have become in my body and in my head, the calmer my life has become. The more love I have given to myself, the more love I have experienced in my life. And the more peace I have found inside, the more peace I have started to witness in my external life.

To some, it might sound too simple, but the beauty and brilliance of this notion, is that it really is that easy.

If for any reason we don’t like what we are experiencing in our external world, all we need to do is look inside and start to change what is happening in the thoughts in our head and the feelings in our bodies, and watch how our external world changes accordingly.

If our life is too fast and too crazy, we need to slow our thoughts down through meditation or yoga perhaps. If our life is sad, angry, or frustrating, we need to be kinder and more loving to ourselves through the thoughts we are thinking, and watch how everything external to us starts to change.

And most importantly, if we are looking for peace in the world, rather than running around trying to change everything outside of us, we must look inwards and seek to be more peaceful in our thoughts and feelings. We need to be the change we desire to see in the world.

You can see the Dalai Lama answering this specific question in the below You Tube clip around 2 hours 47.

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

Ethical Mindfulness in Everyday Life, The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet Sydney Public Talk

Fill your life with things you love

“Life in abundance comes only from great love.”

– Elbert Hubbard –

I have always loved taking photos. Ever since I was little, I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a fascination with cameras. They’re so cool. Just a small box of plastic, metal and glass, some knobs and dials, and you can capture a magical moment in time with it.

I’ve also always known that I have a bit of an eye for taking a good photo, but have just never taken a proper course to learn how. Well, that will all change at the beginning of July, as Darren and I will be going on a photography course together in Manly, run by one of our favourite Australian photographers, Mr Joel Coleman of Saltmotion.

I’ve owned a Digital SLR since about 2007, my Canon 350D did me very well up until last year when I decided to upgrade to a 600D when I went back to the UK. The good news, was that my 350D found a very good home in the incredibly capable hands of my little sister, who has taken it with her on a 12 month trip around new Zealand with her husband and has taken incredibly beautiful photos like this one below!

In an attempt for Darren and I to start to better acquaint ourselves with the inner workings of a Digital SLR we skipped down to the Vivid Festival in Sydney last week and took a few shots, experimenting with the white balance, shutter speed and ISO. It was lots of fun and it has got me super excited about the course in July.

So, less of a spiritual, tree-huggy blog post today guys and more of a simple and straightforward message. Fill your life with things you love.

I love photography, always have done, always will, and now is the time for me to take it up a notch. Is there something that you love to do, that you could take up one notch?

Sending you lots of love, hugs and light,

Kat x x x

Inspiration for this post

My very own photography

I’m Alive

“All I ever wanted was to find something

More than just a feather from a broken wing

And you tell me I’m here

And you say I’ll survive

But I’m searching for more

To know that I’m alive”

– Mark Wilkinson –

Not long after I moved to Sydney I was strolling through the market in The Rocks on Saturday afternoon with a friend. We were looking for something nice for lunch and along the way I stumbled across something magical, something unexpected and very beautiful. A voice.

Being a keen fan of music, and especially live music (in whatever form), I was pleasantly surprised to find a busker. Now, buskers are ten-a-penny in most big cities, and when I was living in London, I always used to love spending time in Covent Garden watching street performers for hours. However, this guy was on a another level. His voice was so striking, so unique, so beautiful, it seemed like that of an angel.

I was completely and utterly stopped in my tracks, and in that moment, forgot that I was hungry. When I then remembered that I was, I went and grabbed something to eat quickly and came right back to the spot that I first heard him and stood there for a good 20 minutes while I ate, mesmerised by his singing and guitar playing. The majority of the songs he played were covers, with a few of his thrown in for good measure. And when he stopped for a break, I went and said hello, thanked him for such a beautiful performance and bought a CD, which he very kindly signed for me.

Most importantly, I wanted more. When could I see him do a proper gig live? Glancing down at the piece of paper showing his upcoming Sydney dates I saw that both were sold out, and I keenly asked if he had plans for any more. He then told me that he was playing a small venue in Manly the following Friday, but that I should be quick as tickets were nearly sold out for that too.

I called the venue later that day and luckily they had one table left, which I grabbed. I took a group of friends along, promising them that they’d love his music, which they did. That night, he played a song, that I hadn’t seen him busk, which has now become my favourite and a song I listened to a lot last year for inspiration when I was setting up my business.

It was the last song in his set and he sang it with such passion, energy and gusto it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end. Literally one of the most powerful and intoxicating performances of a song I had ever seen. You knew that he meant every single word that he was singing.

So, why am I telling you about this? I’m telling you because, when I was in the shower this morning thinking about what I would write about in my blog, this song came to mind.

I want my blog to be inspiring, uplifting, positive and to incentivise people to take action and do things that make them feel good and feel happy that they’re alive. And I think this song does all of those things. It’s funny how your entire day can be turned around within 3 minutes and 41 seconds.

So, do enjoy Mark’s music. It really is very special. And, if you’re ever in Sydney on a Saturday afternoon and stuck for something to do. Skip down to The Rocks in the afternoon and you’ll find him there. The chance to see such an incredible talent, for free, is a wonderful gift.

Lots of love, hugs & light,

Kat x x x

P.S.

Inspiration for this post

The video for Mark Wilkinson’s ‘All I Ever Wanted’