inspiration and where to find it

                                                           Inspiration and where to find it

People always ask me where I find my inspiration to create hats.  Well the truth is, some days I can make them and then some days I can't. Inspiration does not just come at the snap of a finger. Especially if there are toxic people around you, or some life changing event has brought you to a level of sadness.

Every day, it is difficult to maintain a positive outlook, about my body image, my aging face, the way my children turned out ,etc.  As I wrote in my previous blog, it's important to keep up the fight every day. I find it important to surround myself with people that help me stay in a positive atmosphere. That does not mean to dis your friend in need, or to turn away when someone is in a negative mood. It means to gain strength from positive people, and to help lift up someone who is not. If they do not respond, then keep them at a distance. Some people like to maintain a negative mood because that is where they feel comfortable.

I always look for inspiration from my customers here at the shop. The woman who has only weeks to live, but came in to gain strength from me. The woman who has survived cancer treatment and is recovering but has no hair and feels ugly. The woman who found out her husband has a baby with another woman in addition to the 3 children she has with him. These women inspire me. Through their tears, they get out of bed, dress well, take care of their children, and find the strength to smile and make it through another day. That shows how tough women are. And it also helps me put my thoughts in a different perspective.

When I make my hats, I feel like I am making crowns. Crowns of glory to adorn women who have WON! They turned their sadness and trials into POWER! This is what I think of as my inspiration when I make hats I think:   

I am a daughter
I am a sister
I am a mother
I am an aunt
I am a grandmother
I am a wife
I am a widow
I am a lesbian
I am a cousin
I am a survivor
I am a Queen
I am a Diva
I AM A WOMAN!

and so with this post, I dedicate my blog to my oldest customer, and friend, but I also call her my mother. ( I have adopted her) Her name is Etta Salman. She is 84 years young and with enough spunk to set any big man straight.  Her class and beauty, good taste and sense of humor will be with me until I leave this earth. She is today and always will be my inspiration. I hope that each one of you finds someone like Etta...a mentor, a survivor...an inspiration.

Rose Ellen Moore
www.rcmooreunique.com