Empower Children

The Story Behind The Story

The Story Behind the Story…Melanie Lee author & illustrator of A Girl In The World

As a child I experienced physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect, subsequently I spent years feeling ashamed, worthless and un-loveable. I felt as though I had no voice to speak of it and nowhere to turn. I felt vulnerable and alone for the most part of my childhood, vast amounts of time and space where filled with imagining myself to be anything or anyone else other than who I was.

Feelings of shame, unworthiness and being un-loveable permeated every area of my life and were carried through my childhood into adulthood. My only means of defense was to shut down and avoid my reality wherever and however possible. I learned to escape into my imagination; in there I could create a totally different experience. I feel that it kept me alive at times and sustained me until I was able to get the help I needed to recover from the abuse and trauma.

The birth of my children was in many ways the rebirth of me. I fell utterly and completely in love with them and in learning how to love and nurture them I learned to love and care about myself. The innocence of children is the epitome of bliss itself and their trust one of life’s greatest gifts to be treasured and honored.

Becoming a mother opened me up to the life within more than any other experience. It brought to the surface all of the parts of my self that needed healing. It has turned me inside out, upside down and right way up again. My children put me and keep me in touch with my own emotional landscape. Parenting them, as they have grown through every age and stage of their development has tugged upon every vulnerability I held as child. It continues to bring me face to face and heart to heart with my own issues and challenges me to grow and heal in every area as I respond to their needs.

I cannot and have not been able to shield my children from experiencing pain and some of life’s harsh realities and that at times has been heartbreaking. What I have chosen to do is take all of my experiences and learn from them, and to share the wisdom that comes from that. To be honest and open in my life and with my children, to support and allow them to have a voice in every situation and encourage it in every experience they face in the world.

I believe that our children come to us and through and into the world as their very own once in a lifetime unique expression. I feel it’s our responsibility to protect them from anything that stands in the way of being and creating who they are here to be.

It is true that whilst my life has been full of many painful experiences it is also full of overcoming them. Creativity has played a significant part in that. I lose and find and lose myself in creative expression almost daily. Whether it’s writing, painting, illustrating or sharing stories, I seek creative ways to express and connect with myself and others. Through my creativity I have learned to tell my story, through that journey A Girl In The World came to life.

The freedoms, creativity, love and nurturing I aspire to and my want for my own children, I want for every child. I hope to inspire children to understand that they are the hero's of their own lives.

Melanie Lee…You can also find me at www.thecreativekind.org

Creativity and Imagination at Play

We find and lose and find ourselves through creative expression.  Creativity and the myriad of ways that it comes to life in myself and others is what lights me up. It’s that same creative energy I see flowing so freely through children, even children who are struggling through their childhood. As a small child my home environment was largely an intense, unpleasant and unsafe place to be. I couldn’t physically leave that space as often as I would have liked. Before the age of 8 I had mastered the art of disappearing into my own world. A world created entirely out of my imagination. Children are amazing like that. My imagination was my first greatest escape from a reality which I had no escape.

Entire days, weeks, months, years of my life were spent pretending I was anything or anyone other than who I actually was. As an adult I have a wild imagination, as a child it was a survival skill. In the absence of love, reason and understanding children develop their own skills to cope with their life circumstance. In so many cases the very survival skills that children develop to get by become the stumbling blocks to growth into adulthood.

Thats why its sometimes painful for adults to allow themselves to feel their creative energy. The blocks we feel in our adult lives more often than not stem back to childhood experience/s in one way or another. This is why it is so important to create safe spaces that allow for the organic expression of creativity and the vulnerability that it brings up. We don’t just simply grow out of childhood wounds, they often shape our adult lives in ways in which we do not understand. Safe places to explore our own innate creativity is vital, creativity is one of our greatest human resources. I never miss an opportunity to share that truth with the children and adults around me.

The Creative Kind was born to create safe spaces and places for creativity and imagination to play. These are not things to be put away in adulthood but rather tools for living our whole lives. Creativity, imagination and play are paramount to living happy, healthy, wholehearted lives. We feel that people hold the key to their own understanding and that creative expression is a pathway to knowing, understanding and loving oneself. The question is not whether or not we are creative, its is…

How can we use our creativity to enhance our own lives?

Melanie Lee

My Beautiful Mistake

Ink and watercolour

Painting never ceases to soothe my soul and calm my mind.

In my flow...

Vision Board Workshop April 26th Here on the Farm

Wanderer Artwork Prints Avaliable

Lately I've been enJOYing working with my original hand drawn watercolour and ink artworks 

in a way that I now lovingly refer to as digital mashups.

I am working with may individual artworks to create A3 size prints.

This one below - Wanderer is one of my favourites.

WANDERER

You can purchase a print here 

http://thecreativekind.bigcartel.com

Print comes to you without the watermark and with best wishes.

Trees for Bees

Here on the The Creative Kind Farm, last weekend, in sleepy little paddock... 

This happened…The paddock became home to hundreds of trees. 

 Trees for Bees…EXCITING, hundreds and hundreds of trees planted, thanks to the help of a lot of people. The power of community is a beautiful thing. This will be great! Great for the bees, the trees, us and the bigger picture. Watching these babies grow day by day, lovely! Getting raining in on the first few days, thanks Mother Nature.

I'm excited to share more about this adventure and the details as they grow.

Creativity Flows

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” Joseph Chilton Pearce

I agree with Joseph…and I would add…

Creative Self Expression is vital to our whole health.

We are all born creatives. Life is creativity itself.

Creativity is channelled through my life source energy. 

Without expression I feel a little less me and a little more lost.

My creativity is an anchor into the very depths of me.

It both centers me and sets me free.

Life On The Farm

Life On the Farm

Here on the farm I have indulged in some very special and precious days of contemplation and reflection, also known as wandering and pondering. These days are treasured for many reasons, but especially because for a long time my days were spent with two feet that hit the ground running. I remember that all the way back to childhood and throughout it.

I was the kid who got up at dawn to the sound of birds and was out of the house not long after the sun came up. I was the kid who wandered through the bush for many years and for a time all I wanted to be was Huckelberry Finn.

Prior to that  my happy’ness lay in to pretending I was horse running through the fields. We had a suburban half acre block. I was a small kid. Besides everything feels bigger when you’re little.

That’s kind of the way I feel here on the farm, like a little kid all over again and I’ve got a wilderness in my backyard…except I’m a lot happier than I was in my childhood and my world feels safe. If for any reason it feels like doesn’t I know what to do about it and I have love and support all around me.

I’ve long been an advocate for feeling your way through life. Our heart is our compass and allowing ourselves to be guided by our instincts and intuition is vital to connection to spirit. We rob ourselves, and others when we forget or ignore that. It never felt safe for me to share feelings as a child. I had no words to describe my feelings even if I had the opportunity.

That's why I co created The Creative Kind 

I have spent many adult years doing the soul work I’ve needed to do…Peeling away the layers of suffering, confusion and pain to get back to the essence of me. The love, light and joy that I am. To feel my life through life and be in touch with and engaged in what lights up my spirit is a beautiful feeling. When my spirit calls I listen.

The green’ness and nature of this place has healed me more than I ever knew possible and put me back in touch with my own nature. Nature has nurtured me over these last 18months in the most beautiful way. Surrounded on all four sides by forest and an abundance of wildlife, myself included. I am in my bliss and looking forward to sharing more about it all as it unfolds.

Peace

A Moment

Can we speak for a moment? speak of what’s only true.

What’s true for you and true for me maybe entirely different matters.

Can we both acknowledge that, accept it and can we speak our truth.

Sometimes my heart wanders as if it’s searching for a lost part of itself.

It seems as if it’s searching for a memory that’s been left behind, somewhere, some place, some other time gone by.

If I speak of this with you, perhaps you may know what I mean, I wonder will you understand?

There are those who talk a lot, they seem to have all the words.

But when you listen closer there is nothing to be heard in all the noise they make.

I need a place and people where I can share my truth, even if it’s painful and most especially when it hurts.

I will no longer bury my thoughts and feelings in the underground of myself.

I can no longer ignore that I am waiting here for me.

I have met some so comfortable behind their façade of indifference and ignorance. There are those who would rather guard the pretence with the power they posses, as opposed to shine a light and expose their every weakness.

I fear not the parts of me that may bring me undone, for it’s in my vulnerability that lies my greatest strength.

Buried beneath the wreckage of circumstances that I once could never speak, lies a truth so potent with the power to set me free.

So can we speak for a moment, to speak of what’s only what is true.

So that you may feel your freedom and I will feel mine too.

Melanie Lee

LOVE PEACE FREEDOM

www.thecreativekind.org

Ahhhhmazing what a tree change can do

Spend time in nature 'they' say and now I can only wholeheartedly agree.

Now I live amongst it and it most assuredly calms my mind, soothes my soul and feeds my creativity.

I am in love with this place and I feel like it loves me back.

It's been a big year, actually it's been a big decade…to tell you the truth its been a big life!

I'm writing a book about it, I have been writing it for a while…It's a challenge, trying to make sense of experiences that just didn't make sense. The most important thing to me is that I share the love and the lessons. I want people to know that even though I have been through so many challenges I am always swimming towards the light and that there is an out the other side of everything. One way or another there is an out the other side…So I choose to empower myself and those around me to define that for themselves…and yes it can be messy and painful, it certainly is if you come form a childhood of abuse and have experienced trauma in your life.

Like Friedrich Nietzsche said—

 'You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.' 

Creativity has set me free. It has helped me to find my voice and continues to be a channel for growth, inspiration and freedom. I'd be lost without it, I love to get lost in it and I always find my way into the deeper parts of me. I invite you all to MAKE the time to find your creative expression, whatever it is that speaks to you and allow it room to breathe and move through you and out into the world.

Creativity has an energy that when suppressed shows up in a multitude of ways, it comes out sideways, spills out in all kinds of behaviours, shows up in illness and depression. When expressed it has the power to enlighten, inspire and free not only us but those around us.

You can also follow me via the link below

http://thecreativekind.org

New Books Available Now - Our Online Store

Greetings Everybody

Our new books are available now. 

www.thecreativekind.org

For all those lovely folks who are interested in buying copies of the new books…here's a link to the online store, feel free to share it around…We are creating a dream which is all about creating opportunities for children to speak and live their truth…

Our New Books Launch - Sydney Book Expo

New look A Girl In The World

The second story in the series...

Introducing A Boy In The World

I am so EXCITED to be sharing the news that our new books are here.

They went to print last week and will be unveiled at the Sydney Book Expo

this weekend. For more details keep reading, hope to see you there :-)

Book Expo Australia is the nation’s largest dedicated event for authors and publishers and is the first event of its type in 20 years. Head to Sydney Olympic Park this weekend to meet over 300 authors and join in on over 100 panels, readings and book related events. This event supports the The Indigenous Literacy Foundation.

When: Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 August 2014
Where: Exhibition Hall 5, Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park
More info: http://www.bookexpoaustralia.com/
Tickets: www.dashtickets.com.au/tour/59

Melanie Lee Art

Greetings Everybody :-)

If you'd like to see more of what I do feel free to visit 

http://melanieleeart.blogspot.com.au

I am primarily a self-taught artist. I enjoy the freedom that this gives me to explore several different mediums and styles and mix them together as I please. While I am a fan of study of all sorts I do find it to be somewhat frustrating in that often, what please the eyes and taste of some teachers dissatisfies others. 

It has led me to the conclusion time and time again that to follow my own path creatively is in my best interest. Life and its experience both good and bad, the world around me, my relationships with family, my partner, friends, lovers and adversaries have all ultimately been my greatest and most influential teachers. 

I find inspiration comes and goes and when it arrives, life is bliss and I get easily and happily lost in amongst my own creativity, ideas and passion. Inspiration has often snuck up and surprised me when I wasn't even looking for or expecting it. Often it has come via some of life's most painful experiences and when I have been able to draw from those times creatively my life and my spirit have been enriched by it. 

It has been my experience that art in which ever form I choose to create with or find myself exploring gives depth and meaning to my life.

Creativity lives and breathes inside us all and however it comes out to play may be as unique and individual as we are…

Speaking Out About Suicide and Abuse

A few months ago I was given the opportunity to share some of my story with the Australian Marie Claire magazine. I said yes and was interviewed a while ago. It is of course a snapshot into a very big life - The topic Surviving Suicide. It is in the July issue, out now.

 I am out and open about my life’s experiences the beauty and the pain because I believe in that expression is the key to moving and growing through it all with love, hope and grace. I’m all for shining a light into the darkness, the mess, the secrets and lighting it up…All the better to help see the way through to the 'out the other side'. 

I speak about it because I can and with knowing I’m not alone in the experience. For a painfully long time I felt so alone in it, suicide was simply never mentioned. I decided long ago that no part of me need be left behind, or buried for fear or shame, because with love and support I discovered I am not what happened to me. I am who and how I choose to be in response to the things that have happened to me, and the circumstances of my life. 

I choose to use every part of my life story to make a difference where and when and however possible. Our lives are full of stories, all so rich in diversity yet universal in so many ways. If my story serves to inspire others in any way, offer validation, invite reflection and ignite positive change then I am grateful to have made a difference in the life of someone else. 

Melanie Lee

You can also find me via the links below…

https://www.facebook.com/TheCreativeKind

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

The Creative Kind - Create Change

"The disconnection of our children leads to the disengagement of our youth. This disengagement and disconnect and the way it plays out leads to great losses, for our children, our youth, their communities and society as a whole.

 If we are to create a generational change in which we engage youth to use their energy for the greater good of all human kind there needs to be a strong emphasis on creative, innovative and radical new ideas that flood the education system with resources, support and opportunities for all children, not a selected few. 

This will not come from government. It will continue to be driven and bought to life by passionate individuals, parents, teachers, leaders, groups, business and org's like 
'The Creative Kind' that understand first hand the life force, power, necessity and wealth of creativity inside of our children.

There is a world full of opportunities and challenges crying out for creative solutions, here's to empowering our children to feel inspired, to be pro-active to create change." 

Melanie Lee

https://www.facebook.com/TheCreativeKind

The Creative Kind is coming...

You can already find us on Facebook see link below :-)

https://www.facebook.com/TheCreativeKind

Letter to My Children

Dear Kids,

For every time I said hurry up and I’m busy, I’m sorry.
Life is short, for some it is fleeting. 
It seems the older you get the faster time passes. 
Time a man made invention. 
Please do not allow it or the expectations of others to rule your life.

Feel free, feel the grass beneath your feet the wind in your hair and the sunshine on your face as often as possible, make it possible often, everyday.
Breathe, pay attention to your breath. Breathe life into everything you do. Be kind, the world needs more kindness, practice acts of kindness everyday. There are opportunities everywhere.

Keep an open mind and an open heart.
Never let others, even those nearest and dearest tell you who you are supposed to be. 
Be yourself.
It’s common to get lost in the crowd, rise above it.
Be brave walk out on a limb and stand there, even if you stand alone, stand with courage and integrity and you’ll be in great company.

Think for your self; trust your guts, your instincts, and your intuition. Never be afraid to ask questions and question the answers. Learning is a lifetime journey; feed your passions, live an inspired life. Look for inspiration it’s right there in front of you, it's all around you, it's everywhere.

See the magic in everyday moments and see everyday as a gift. Be creative; know that we are all born creatives. Find out what makes your heart sing and spend your creativity there and it will always replenish itself.

Nurture hope in yourself and others it is the gem of life.
Never be afraid to share your hope with others for life becomes bleak without it. For some you might be the only light that shines in their life on any given day.

Make mistakes, lots of mistakes. Fail and keep failing until you succeed. Failure is full of learning and hidden treasure. Remember to rest but rise every time you fall. Measure success by the love and respect that you have in your life, for yourself and for and from others.

Seek first to understand. Allow space for confusion it’s only natural but don’t get lost in there. Confusion is a great place to hide but do not park there.

Remember there is always an out the other side, of everything. Happiness, oh elusive happiness it’s not so elusive when we realise its right here now…If we choose it. Feel your way through life. Travel with a smile in your heart and share it along the way, it will multiply :-)

Introducing A Boy In The World

A Boy In The World book will be available for purchase soon.

Girls and boys make the world go round :-)

Children are a gift and their energy lights up the world.

Lets be the LOVE, SAFETY and NURTURING

they need and deserve…Melanie Lee

Children's Book A Girl In The World…Visit our Big Cartel store to purchase, see link below.

A Girl In The World

A children's book that appeals to girls and boys of all ages.

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

and feels about herself and her place in the world.

Written simply and beautifully illustrated, it is a universal story about the ups and downs of life 

and the importance of remembering to dream.

Click the link below to visit our Big Cartel store to order your copy.

Delivery to anywhere in the world.

http://agirlintheworld.bigcartel.com/product/a-girl-in-the-world

My Vision for a Sustainable Future…Melanie Lee

My vision for a sustainable future is one in which love, kindness, compassion and respect for self, others and all living things is the foundation beneath everything that we do in our lives and our world.

Always when thinking of sustainability issues, whether its related to poverty, water, energy, air quality, wildlife, petro chemicals, heath, agriculture, food systems and wellbeing, the state of the ocean, the worldwide economy, deforestation, human rights, animals rights, the lack of sustainability focus and the loss of thriving habitats …whether its environmental or humanitarian…

I’m always considering the impact on the next generation and how little and ill prepared they are at every junction. For me, it always comes back to children, they are our future….and they live in a world where their future is being hijacked by the agendas of those who’s primary aim is to serve themselves and the financial bottom line.

I want to envision a world where children are not homeless, starving, no longer dying from preventable diseases, used and abused sexually, sold into slavery and treated as disposable as I know is the case in so many parts of the world both near and far. 

I want to live in a world where the rights of children are upheld everywhere in ever corner of the globe, a world where children are valued, and respected and have a voice. Where the rights of the child, the world most ratified of human treaty are not just words on paper, but actioned in every possible way throughout the world.

I envision a world where children are nourished, every part of their being is awakened and excited, explored and enjoyed, where education is a fundamental right of every child everywhere and that education full of imagination, creativity and innovation and is all about empowering them to be the very best human being that they are capable of becoming.

A world where all children have free access to an education that serves children and the communities they are growing into. An education that draws on the wisdom of indigenous cultures, wise elders and enlightened visionary leaders to preserve the environment and pass down ancient knowledge that benefits the world as a whole. An education that inspires children to learn and raises their awareness of their capacity to love, understand and care for themselves, others and the world around them.

I envision a world where children are connected to their emotional, mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing and live their lives from that place and space of connection. That children grow in understanding that at the deepest part of their being everything and everyone is connected and what we do to others, animals and the environment - the world out there… we do to ourselves.

My vision for a sustainable world is a world where children are loved and adored for the miraculous beings that they are. A world that has children revered for their spirit, their innocence and their enormous and enduring capacity for love.

I dream and plan for a future where children are cherished for the hope and promise that they are and that they bring with them into the present, our presence and into the future. I envision children being bold creative inspiring capable leaders across all areas of humanitarian and environmental sustainability platforms. I see them creating a world where they are thriving and empowering all else to thrive in the process.

If we educate rather than shield our children from the inhumanity, injustices and environmental destruction involved in the challenges and issues we face in our world today, we open the doorway to the possibilities that they may in fact make very different choices in their lives.

If children knew the power that they held, if they understood the true cost of things, the production processes involved, where stuff comes from, how things are made and the cost to others, to other children in the world, to animals, to our planet…would they choose such destruction?

If one whole generation of children were empowered from the beginning of their lives to feel, to know, understand and take responsibility for their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing, to comprehend that it is in their hands, and that everything they do, every choice they make has an effect and an impact out there…imagine what the world would look like.

Children are a gift, a force and the potential to empower them in a meaningful way is still so untapped. I have experienced first hand the difference it makes when we raise the awareness of our children as we raise them…

The Dalai Lama has said “If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”

I would love to see this happen as part of my vision for a sustainable future.