May 9 2012

We’re living up to standards that don’t exist.

This is a video that I made about a year ago. Please watch, and feel free to share.

If we all live like this, nobody will be happy. Every single person on this planet will be a mess. A broken, shattered mess. 
Sadly, this is all caused by society. We can’t help it. We can’t stop society from judging every single person based on their looks. We stereotype every single person, just so it makes ourselves feel better. We think of everything so closed mindedly- as if it HAS to be this way. As if it’s simply the way we have to be, and can’t be ourselves. We’re being forced into living up to standards that don’t exist, that are simply phantoms, myths. 

May 2 2012

People are not mirrors.

Many of us have struggled with self-image issues at some point, and with increase in social media and the setting of higher standards, it’s becoming a very predominant problem. The range of age of those struggling is becoming wider and wider.  The issue is growing, but not becoming any less severe or serious than it ever has been.

A lot of times, it’s pushed aside as a “phase” or simply an act for attention. The thing these people don’t understand is that it isn’t just “grown out of”. One problem causes another, and a lot of times, a few cruel words can spiral into an inescapable mess of depression and hopelessness.

I’ve always been extremely aware of society’s impact on young women and men. It’s extremely frightening to fall into a place where you’re happy with nothing and start relying on last resorts. The only thing we can really do is to show the world that nothing is impossible. A lot of the things we’re insecure about, nobody else notices. If there is something about yourself that you desperately want to change, take the SAFE path. Don’t go to extremes that will leave you in a worse place than you started in. Human beings are not mirrors. The things that you are insecure about are probably perfect in someone else’s eyes. The first step to being happy is loving you for who you are.

Apr 30 2012

Guest Blog: Simple acts of sheer beauty.

In February of 2010, a few months shy of my sixteenth birthday, I came across a twitter account for a little girl named Layla Grace. I’m sure you’ve all heard of Layla by now, the bright blue-eyed, adorable toddler whom was fighting something much bigger than her. I had only been following Layla’s story for about a month before her passing in March. From that moment, not only was my life forever changed, my heart was as well. I had no idea the suffering of children all around me. I thought to myself, how can this be happening to babies? Why isn’t anyone listening? I made it my personal mission to raise awareness for childhood cancer and to help these children, in some way, shape or form. The summer following Layla’s death, I began sending care packages to children across the United States. I wasn’t exactly planning for anything big to come out of it, I was just doing something little to brighten the days of children fighting for their lives. I had no idea just the impact these children and childhood cancer would have on me.

As 2011 rolled around, I knew I wanted to turn my small care packages into something much more. I had no clue how I was going to do it, but I wanted to start an organization. There are two songs that have always been favorites of mine – “Ordinary Miracle” and the beautiful “Amazing Grace.” As I was brain-storming ideas, I once again came across these songs… and from that moment, I knew what my organization would be. It would be called “Ordinary Grace.” Ordinary, such as turning seemingly ordinary actions into something remarkable, and Grace, for the simple acts of sheer beauty that come from our hearts. Around the time my organization was getting started, a little boy I had started following the year before was nearing the end of his battle with Neuroblastoma, an aggressive form of childhood cancer. His name was Ronan Sean Thompson. Ronan captured my heart from the very first time I saw his beautiful, sparkling blue eyes. Ronan fought for eight short months before his body simply stopped responding to the chemotherapy. Ronan inspired me to never give up, to fight with absolutely everything I had in me and to help other kids just like him. Ronan was and is my hero.

Ordinary Grace has done more for me, as a person, than ever anticipated. The difference between who I am now and who I was two years ago is breath taking. I’ve definitely had my fair share of struggles, but out of struggling, comes beauty. I wake up each morning
with a fresh set of eyes – knowing that I have been blessed with another day, another chance, another opportunity to make someone smile and laugh. My goal is simple. It is to make a difference. It is to love others. It is to see children, whom are fighting for their lives, day in, and day out… smile. When I am delivering a care basket to a child, and I see the way their face lights up with joy and excitement and the burden of their cancer is pushed aside for a moment, the world around me just about stops. I silently say a prayer of thankfulness and gratitude to be given this opportunity. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, I would rather be doing – than this.

I will continue on with my journey, forever changed by the children and families I have met. I will continue on with Ronan’s beautiful eyes engraved in my soul.

Lauren Clements

http://ordinarygrace.net

http://twitter.com/lorocoro

Apr 30 2012

Every day.

Take a day every once in a while and completely slow down. Be sentimental. Stare into a candle and watch the way it flickers. Count the colors in the sunset. Take an old book you’ve read time after time, and pick apart every word. Take it in in a new way each time. Think about the things you’re stressing over, and ask yourself, “is this really what I wanted? Is this going to help me in the long run?”

Remember that this entire world you are walking on is a miracle in itself. We are all miracles. Grace fills the scars in our heart and on our skin. Hope fills thoughts of uncertainty. Music consoles us. Love ties it all together.

 

Apr 23 2012

Maybe this beauty I see is a sign of something more.

As I get ready to walk out the door this morning to start off the week, I’m stopping to take a loot around at all of the miracles that happen all around me. I never truly realized how amazing it is that life falls together in the way that it does. As suddenly as it can fall apart, it can pull itself right back together. When one door slams shut on your finger, a whole hallway of new paths can stand wide open waiting to be explored.

Every day when I open my eyes to the sun rising once again, I realize that my life has once again been touched by grace. The way everything happens so perfectly, the way the sky can shift hues in a matter of minutes… all of it is extraordinary. I see the world in such a different light than I had just months before. I was in a very bad place at the time, both physically and emotionally. Everyone I talked to would tell me that it would get better. That there was hope. To keep fighting. To start better habits. That I was needed here.

And now, three years later, I’m starting to believe it. Maybe it’s a matter of trust. Maybe it’s because of all the things that have changed for the good. I still have my days and weeks where nothing works right. I remember the mistakes I’ve made and the promises I’ve broken. I miss the people I’ve let down and talk to the ones I unknowingly push away. And then, there are the days when I feel surrounded and embraced in unexpected love. I notice the beauty and perfection of a tiny flower blooming out in the front yard. My eyes are opened to the opportunities I’ve been gracefully and carefully given in order to make my life what I want it to be. All of the little signs start adding up to something so great.

As the months fly by, revelations and sacrifices come and go. Some are good ideas; and some, well…aren’t. I’m finally starting to see the scratches I’ve made on the surface of the earth become something deeper, more permanent. I’m starting to claim my spot here, and really committing myself to it. I’ve come to terms with the fact that maybe I wasn’t meant to be your normal teenager. I never have been. And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe this beauty I see is a sign of something more.