Name: Gemma Ann Owens
Age: 21
Occupation: Massage therapist/Barista/Muso
What steps do you take in order for you to feel your best?
I like to refer to life being in the motion of a circle. Always going around, passing, transient...impermanent. Filled with ups, down and everything in between. Although my steps change often, these are my main squeezes.
Eating wholesome home cooked vego food, spending time in the sea...preferably surfing, listing my goals and manifestations, journaling thoughts and feelings, surrounding myself with uplighting/relaxed people, solo time to regather my mind, breathing, reflecting, playing & creating music (My biggest outlet of free expression), working towards/achieving my goals/passions & endless cups of tea.
How important is self love to you? How do you practice self care?
Humans are like onions. They're made up of several layers...emotional, physical and spiritual layers. We all have a story. Maybe even a traumatic past, yet the choice is ours to either negatively identify with these experiences with a product of self judgment, unhealthy personal expectations, fear, jealousy and envy OR to make a conscious effort to take every experience, either "good or bad", as a learning curve and a step closer to reaching your higher self. I must elaborate that is it OK to address & feel the negative emotions, yet we must not dwell on them.
Follow your passions and dedicate your happiness to YOU. Purely for YOU.
Self love is a process. Be Kind, gentle, forgiving & soft on yourself.
Make time for all that you enjoy, rippling into a flow of satisfaction and joy for life.
Through many different methods, trials, errors and realisations I gain further insight into who I am and what works best for me, peeling a layer off each time I find that power house lady inside of me. If every human was freed from the locks of self doubt, self judgement and self expectation, everyone would glow and be ultimately free.
Can you re call a moment in which you felt empowered as a women?
I can’t recall one single moment. Rather a process of women empowerment.
Through Travel, heart break, self education and random life experiences, i feel empowerment. Each time i reflect, I see change in myself and I feel proud that i am ever growing !
Have you ever had issues with your body image/self worth? If so, where do you believe they first stemmed from?
Of course. As like 99.9% of growing females, judgement on oneself is a thought in the mind. Always wanting everything we do not possess & in turn missing our very own blessed beauty.
Being short, with biggish ears and feet that were growing faster than my body school was a little tough so i'd say they stemmed from there.
My 'first love' experience knocked my self esteem low. Giving my whole heart to another and forgetting about myself along the way taught me a lot. People will come and go. Some for the better, some for worse. To love another, we must first love one self.
I was reading through my journal and found a passage in regards to a self love lesson that i thought i'd share.
~ “In the nature of self discovery, I must experience my own true compassion rather than seeking love from another human - We must experience love from within before we can feel and give unlimited ‘true' love. We shall not beg for love to feel whole because that is short term. Rather feed of self love and the awakening of compassion in our own. Happiness does not come from another - The purist form of divine love and self acceptance comes from within."
Can you re call a pivotal point in your journey towards acceptance & unlocking undying self love?
Travelling solo for the first time. Little Gem alone, in the big wide world, with bunch of strangers. It was then that i found confidence & made the conscious decision to always follow whatever fills my heart with pure joy!
How do you fill your basket back up when you’re feeling a little low?
Through giving!
Also through exercising, mediation and journalling... Avoiding social media is necessary too, as the ego feeds off it for self satisfaction and acceptance.
Writing down exactly how I feel on paper, in a nice environment is a cleansing mind shower.
What does balance mean to you?
When I'm out of balance, I don’t feel much stoke for life. I am everywhere except in that present moment. My mind becomes jumbled and my direction becomes a hazy. The times spent out of balance seem to push self love afar as I am not listening to what my body, mind and soul needs at that time.
Balancing is an art. Its a forever juggling act which keeps things interesting and fruitful. When the scale tips, it’s not the end of the world....rather a gentle reminder that something in life needs little bit more care. Slow down. Breath. Reflect. Regather.
Do you feel proud to be a women?
Absolutely! Every cell of me is proud to be female.
I have always been quite a strong lass and have never let being female stop me from pursing exactly what my heart desires.
If you had one week left on earth, what would you change about your life? How would you spend your last moments?
Being a very driven person, I find myself getting caught up in a fast paced lifestyle, so to combat that, I'd slow down and smell and feel and be with those roses.
My last moments would be spent floating in the sea, smiling in the sun, holding hands with friends and eating cheesecake!
Describe a moment that filled your heart with pure bliss!
Holding a small Sri Lankan Baby girl. Her eyes spoke of innocence & kindness...the purest form of human. I cried so hard, having never before felt such strong emotions before. Like a rush of love and bliss all at once.