Surmount All Obstacles

March 13, 2013Britanie Life 11 Comments

“You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing, and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.” – Jiddu Krishnamurti

(Click on all Images to see larger views!!)

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Since we started to move into our beautiful new Homestead, it seemed as if I was having one thing after another happening to me. When I first arrived, I had an Ovarian Cyst and then shortly after, I sprained my knee moving things into the house. I also ended up in the ER after severely puncturing my finger in the Garden on some type of Rose Bush. I ended up having a Tetanus (T-dap) shot which is still causing me some side effects and on top of it I had some other health issues I was dealing with that were extremely painful and frustrating. I had a mini-break down one night out of pure frustration and if I am being honest, feeling sorry for myself. Matthew comforted me with his words and his constant compassion which helped me so much. I was also texting a very dear friend of mine and venting about why it is I don’t seem to get a break. There was something she said to me that really spoke to my soul so very much:

“Because you’re asking for a break. You see physical wellness as an indicator of how positive or negative you have been. You’ve been ‘getting a break’ in so many other ways. You just got the biggest break of all. The love break. You got to move in with the love of your life. Your heart got a break.”

This is so true. Those words resonated with me so much. I so often will have something wrong with me physically and look back to reflect on any moments I was maybe not positive enough and I get angry when I feel that I have been positive and yet I keep suffering.

I realize that you cannot think like that. I cannot think that just because I am being positive that all of my physical ailments will get better, and I can’t think that if I am negative that I am guaranteed to have bad things happen to me. All I can do is live every day with the most positive of intentions and hope for the best, but know that I have the ability inside of myself to overcome any obstacle that comes my way.

“Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I’m not going to make it, but you laugh inside — remembering all the times you’ve felt that way.”

– Charles Bukowski

Once I was able to move past the frustrations of the physical things that I was not able to control, I started to focus more on the good things that were surrounding me. The fact that I now have a home with the love of my life. That we have a huge beautiful garden and so much land for Tayo to run around in. That I can look outside the window in the morning and see beautiful trees and sky and know that I am living where I have dreamed of living, and most important of all – the fact that although I have been given many health issues to bear, that I have such an important and vital support system in my life and that I am, despite all of my pain; alive and continuing to endure, accept, progress and grow.

I cannot wait for Spring to arrive and to wear flower crowns in my hair and long dresses with knee-high boots and walk everywhere. I am the most excited about starting to plant my own Flowers, Herbs and Food. I will start with Red Roses and move onto Lavender, Chamomile, Spinach and so many others. I started a board on Pinterest just for Garden Inspiration. It’s been getting me even more excited and ready to plant and grow!

Tayo has been adjusting to the move and he’s been barking at every single thing including the wind! I think he is confused at the change but at the same time he is so happy with having so much more room to run around in and he is constantly trying to get me outside to let him chew on pine combs and sticks and run around in circles!

Bobcat. I caught this beautiful creature with my camera and am so happy with how it turned out. I can’t believe I saw him. So beautiful.

I am fighting off a horrible cold/flu and am trying to get lots of rest and am drinking a lot of the Sleepytime Echinacea Complete Care Tea and taking extra Vitamin C and D. I hope this passes soon – I can’t wait for the sun to be out again!

From The Language Of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.

xoxo,

Britanie

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*All of my reviews are based on my own personal experiences with the brand/products. I am never paid to give my honest opinions and will only recommend products that I love and use myself! All Photographs are (C) Britanie Faith unless stated otherwise.*

Rest, relax, and be in a letgo.

January 28, 2013Britanie Life 6 Comments

“Rest, relax, and be in a letgo. Letgo is the secret of life. Letgo is the secret of religion. Letgo is the greatest secret. When you are in a letgo many things, millions of things, start happening. They were already happening but you were never aware.” – Osho

ॐ Om ॐ

***

Lately I have been really trying even harder to stay present in the moment and to surround myself with the most positive of energies that I can. I have a lot going on with my health right now and I could easily choose to just give in to the stress and the frustration of it all, but instead I am trying to focus on the things I am not lacking in: i.e.- love, support, inspiration, faith, hope.

It can be very easy from an outsiders view to look in on someones life (especially nowadays with blogs, facebook, twitter, etc) and to judge someone’s life based on a mere glimpse of what that person chooses to share with the world. I try to share the things that are hopeful and happy in my life. I will not ever pretend that everything in my life is perfect because there is no such thing as perfection. I also will never be actively negative on my blog or any other source of an outlet for myself and others.

I believe in being honest and real but there is nothing good that can come from focusing solely on the painful and sad things in your life. It’s normal and okay to share those things with people you love and trust but always bear in mind that negative energy can easily be contagious and projected and is not usually ever useful for neither yourself or anyone else.

My goal in my life is to find ways to cope with the hardships I have been given for whatever reason they may be. I plan to take whatever possible good I can from every painful thing I experience, both physical, emotional and mental. From pain comes knowledge and strength. I choose to keep pushing on through the setbacks so that I can find the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how bad things get there is always something to be thankful for.

♥ Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health ♥

I am lucky enough to live very close by to Kripalu which is one of the most calming, beautiful and meditative spots around. I love to go here and take photos, explore the grounds, visit the cafe and shop and just sit and look out at the magnificent view.

♥ St. Francis of Assisi ♥

Many of the stories that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love for animals. Perhaps the most famous incident that illustrates the Saint’s humility towards nature is recounted in the “Fioretti” (“Little Flowers”), a collection of legends and folklore that sprang up after the Saint’s death. It is said that, one day, while Francis was traveling with some companions, they happened upon a place in the road where birds filled the trees on either side. Francis told his companions to “wait for me while I go to preach to my sisters the birds.”The birds surrounded him, intrigued by the power of his voice, and not one of them flew away. He is often portrayed with a bird, typically in his hand.

♥ Organic Wild Rosehip Seed Oil & 100% Pure Unrefined Shea Butter ♥

I have been wanting to try pure Rosehip seed oil for awhile now and when I found this one for just $15.95 I had to get it. It’s an added bonus that it’s Organic. I also picked up some more Shea Butter because I go through it so quickly and this one in particular is so soft, it’s almost whipped! It goes on like a dream. Both of these are super hydrating (and affordable!).

I went to the ER yesterday afternoon after having severe spasms in my stomach for the past few days. It got worse yesterday and I decided it probably best to go get it checked out. I deal with chronic digestive issues on a daily basis but these spasms were consistent and different than usual. I spent four hours in the ER, had x-ray’s and blood work and thankfully they didn’t find anything serious. I am scheduled for exploratory surgery on Friday to rule out any possibility of an Ulcer, Diverticulitis, etc. If everything comes back normal than it’s most likely my Spastic Colon that’s causing the pain. I will feel better once I have everything ruled out though.

I will go back to what I said earlier in this post and that is that I am focusing on the good that came from this situation. I ended up meeting someone at the hospital who recommended a specific medication for my chronic nausea and so far it’s been life changing.

There is a reason for everything we experience (good or bad). It may not always be our destiny in this lifetime to know the reason why, but it is up to us to decide what to do with the information we are given and whether or not we wish to turn it into something positive.

xoxo,

Britanie

Find Me On…

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

January 13, 2013Britanie Life 17 Comments

I spent the past week on Long Island visiting my boyfriend. I was able to meet up with some of my friends(Natasha, Danielle, LeeLee and Holly) but like usual I tend to plan too many things and end up having to reschedule with someone because either everyone can only hangout on the same day or I just am too overtired to hangout at the end of the week. I am terrible at listening to my body sometimes. Whenever I make plans I fully intend on keeping them and I want to keep them but then my health issues sometimes come up and I feel bad about having to cancel plans or reschedule. I have to start to plan better and to accept the fact that although I would love to do everything, that I unfortunately do not have the physical stamina that I would like to have. This doesn’t mean I can’t achieve everything I want to, it just means I have to go at a different pace. I’m getting there. Slowly but surely!

Thankfully I have the most amazingly supportive and compassionate friends who have been there for me throughout the years with my struggles with my health issues and have never made me feel bad for having to cancel or reschedule and are always so incredibly supportive. I made a promise to myself a few years back to only surround myself with genuinely kind and compassionate people. It just isn’t worth it to me otherwise. I am also blessed to have the sweetest and most caring boyfriend in the world. I honestly sometimes wonder how I would manage with my health issues if I didn’t have the family, friends and love that I do in my life. I am incredibly thankful every day for it. No matter how bad things get they could always be worse and I pride myself on trying to always focus on the positives in life.

We have the cutest dog in the world.

Currently reading this and am already completely entranced.

Rooibos and Lavender Tea

Natasha, Me, Danielle.

I met up with Natasha and Danielle and we went to Witches Brew. We had a great time hanging out and indulging in yummy tea and desserts. Later Natasha’s good friend Chris came by and hung out with us. He was hilarious and we all had such a good time. I love those moments when you can truly be yourself around your friends and laugh and have so much fun just sitting around talking, making jokes and sipping on tea. It was really a great night.

Me and Danielle

Me and Natasha went over to Danielle’s house one night and Danielle made us the yummiest Crust-less Quiche and made mine without cheese (I don’t do Gluten or Dairy). It was -so- good. She topped it with cut Avocado and sprinkled some hot sauce and pesto on the side. For dessert she came out with the prettiest fruit platter. We also had two pots of tea. Almond and Maple and then a Fruity tea with Mango. I felt like we were eating at a five star restaurant! It was lovely.

I met up with LeeLee and Holly and went to Kitchen Kabarat and then to Starbucks to chat and take photos. It was so great seeing them again since the last time I saw them was almost two years ago! LeeLee and I have been friends since 2009 and in that time had falling outs but yet somehow always manage to come back into each others lives again. I truly care about her very much and we have an incredible soul connection that is rare to find with many people. I am happy to have her back in my life again and it’s always so wonderful to see her beautiful girlfriend Holly who is truly one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. When you are around good people it’s easy to have fun even just sitting at Starbucks!

I am back in Massachusetts now and missing everyone already. We are in the process of seriously looking at apartments on Long Island now that Matthew has such a good job. I think I will be moving within the next few months. It was be amazing to be with my love and my dog every day and to be so much closer to all of my girlfriends. I’m really excited for the change!

I hope you all had an amazing week. I received an “Editor’s Pick” Award for my blog from Be Beautiful which I posted in my Press page and was so happy and humbled to receive! I have many more reviews, makeup looks and some videos coming up within the next week. I also have another giveaway so keep an eye out for that!

xoxo,

Britanie

Find Me On…

Think of your pain like a big bunch of red roses, a beautiful thorn necklace. Everyone has one.

September 21, 2012Britanie Health 9 Comments

“That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful.”

I have been feeling very depressed lately because I haven’t had an ounce of energy to accomplish the things that I want to during the days. I really just have not felt good in too long. It takes every thing in me to get up in the morning and to get myself together. I went to see an Oncologist/Hematologist and I found out that I am extremely anemic, more so than I had originally thought. My actual iron level is a 10 and my other levels were so low, one was 2 percent and the normal range is between 40 percent and higher. For majority of people with Anemia, it can be easy to treat with Iron pills or diet changes but unfortunately with my digestion issues I am just not absorbing nearly enough. I will be going in for a set of four, one hour IV transfusions of Iron over a four week period. It will be hard, I will have to take anti-nausea medication which they will be putting in the IV because the Iron really makes me sick. I had to do a transfusion over six years ago and it was really tough as the release to the bloodstream can cause a lot of joint pain, nausea, flu-like symptoms that can last for awhile. The good news is that after the four weeks I should start to feel better as my red blood cells increase and in turn give me some energy that I so terribly need!

My Thyroid is also enlarged which most likely means it’s still too low and not working well enough. I think it’s all in relation to my poor digestion and absorption. My seratonin is also extremely low. I have been dealing with health issues since I was first diagnosed with a Hiatal Hernia and Gerd at the age of nine. When I was sixteen they found Endometriosis and Celiac Disease. Then the Fibromyalgia. then the Gastroparesis. It’s honestly been one thing after another for most of my life. I sometimes can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up and not have to be in pain or to feel sick. I can’t imagine going through the day not worrying about my health. I have experienced so much pain in my life but I have also been blessed with such an amazing support system and I have worked my hardest to be as positive as possible. I will not give up on myself because there is just too much I want to accomplish in my life. Too many things I want to see and do. I won’t give up no matter how much harder it gets although I pray every day it will get better as the years go on.

I was hesitant about posting this entry at first because I did not want it to seem like I was in any way complaining and I have also been very private about a lot of my health issues because I don’t like feeling like a burden to others. The thing is, I not only want my blog to be a place where I can blog about things that I love or things that inspire me and things that are beautiful but I also want to be open and honest about my struggles and my pain and hopefully give some sort of comfort to anyone else out there who is going through anything similar or who can relate. At the end of the day you can turn anything into something beautiful, even pain.

I am posting this entry for anyone out there who is suffering with pain. I know how hard it is. I know how exhausting it is. I know it feels like nothing will ever change and no matter what you do it never gets better. I know you also feel like no one could possibly understand but I promise you there are people who understand and I am one of them. Think of your pain as a purpose, a learning process, a twisted gift of sorts in order for you to become a more compassionate, patient and stronger person. Think of all of the little things in life that you don’t take for granted because you know how easily it can be tainted by pain. Live in the moment and no matter how bad the pain gets, never ever give up on yourself.

xoxo,

Britanie

Beauty By Britanie

a natural beauty, health & lifestyle blog

Tag Archives: health issues

Surmount All Obstacles

Rest, relax, and be in a letgo.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.

Think of your pain like a big bunch of red roses, a beautiful thorn necklace. Everyone has one.

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