Treasure Yourself (2 page)

stunning. Likewise, a frangipani is just as unique and beautiful in its own right as an orchid.

Over the years I have been blessed to have amazing women contribute to my life. My Mum, Nan,

aunties, Mrs Middlebrook, friends, work colleagues – they’ve all played an integral part and have helped

to shape me or make my life more interesting in some way. Each of these women is totally unique and

beautiful, like each and every flower. I have asked each of them to contribute to my book by drawing their

favourite flower as an acknowledgement of how special they are to me.

I have placed their drawings or illustrations throughout the chapters of this book. I ask you to join with

me in sharing their uniqueness and love, and grant them the opportunity to share part of themselves with

you. I love them and thank them for sharing my journey and contributing so positively to my life.

I honestly believe there is nothing stopping us from embracing our dreams and creating the lives we

wish to live. All it takes is a shift in the way we think. I love what Louise L. Hay says: ‘Every thought I

think is creating my future’.

It’s so important to keep positive and say ‘Yes!’ to life, I believe. I use positive affirmations as a way

to help me achieve this sense of positivity, because certain sayings and words have empowered me in my

life and have helped me to follow my dreams and reach my goals. Said every morning and every night –

and even many times during the day – power thoughts can help you too.

I wish to share my inspiration with you, so that you will treasure and believe in yourself, have faith in

your abilities, accept who you are and uncover your own unique gifts. We all have wings, but it is up to

each one of us to have the courage to fly. My hope is that these words and the affirmations included will

help empower you to reach for your dreams even in difficult times. With action, anything in life is

possible.

Sometimes, challenges and struggles are exactly what we need in our lives … May you welcome every

effort, every struggle, and every challenge and appreciate all your blessings…May you open your wings

and fly!

Miranda Kerr

xxx

life lessons…

What follows is a little about my life to help

you see how I got to where I am today.

Country life… It all began for me in Gunnedah, New South Wales – a small country town in rural

Australia. Gunnedah is a typical country town. Everyone knows everyone and people are genuinely

concerned about each other. It’s a beautiful little town and is surrounded by nature and wide-open spaces.

Like other country towns, Gunnedah doesn’t have huge department stores or shopping malls.

I was raised by my parents and grew up with my wonderful, kind-hearted brother, Matthew and my

grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles were always around. My childhood was blessed and I’m very

grateful to have a family that showed me unconditional love, understanding and acceptance. My parents

taught me many valuable lessons about life and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without their

continuous support.

My childhood was filled with fun, excitement and adventure. My parents, my brother and I lived in the

town, but each day our grandmother picked up Matthew and me from school. We spent our time on our

grandparents’ farm with our cousins and the kids Nan used to babysit. We’d ride motorbikes and horses,

drive the old cars in the paddock, build cubby houses, play dress-ups and climb trees. These are some of

my fondest memories.

From an early age I played a lot of sports like basketball and netball as well as doing gymnastics and

as I got older I also played touch football. I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with my friends, singing,

painting, dancing and having sleepovers at my place.

My life’s path has taken me on an interesting and amazing journey. A friend secretly entered me in the

1997 Dolly Magazine CoverGirl competition, which is where my modelling career began. To win was

such a surprise! It was a fantastic experience. Not long after this my family and I relocated to Brisbane

where I graduated from high school. I was reluctant to move to the city because I am a country girl at

heart. I missed Gunnedah and, like anyone who moves away, I missed my friends. It was a big change. I

was quite fortunate though: from the first day at my new school I was welcomed by a great group of girls

and made some lifelong friends. Things seemed to be going really well, until something happened that

changed my life forever.

Overcoming obstacles… I’m sure you have had many experiences that have altered the way you think

and feel about life. I want to share with you something that happened to me which was really significant,

and at the time was one of the biggest challenges I had ever faced.

When I was 16, I was deeply in love with Chris, my first boyfriend. We had been dating for two years,

and I had just left Gunnedah and moved to Brisbane when he was killed instantly in a car accident and all

of a sudden it felt as though my world had fallen apart. Although we were only young, we had both

dreamed of and talked about spending the rest of our lives together. I was devastated and it felt like I had

fallen into a dark hole, from which it took me a long time to surface. Being so young, it was difficult to

imagine how things could ever get better and how the light I had felt in my life could shine again. I felt as

if my heart had been ripped from my chest and I didn’t know what to do.

Having grown up so close to nature in Gunnedah, however, I had learnt from an early age that change is

inevitable, though it can be painful; summer becomes autumn and winter turns to spring, life has a rhythm

and I was fortunate enough to have the love and understanding of my family and friends and time to heal.

Chris’ death taught me that the people who touch your life are always with you. It taught me that I have

the choice to be grateful for the time I had with him, instead of dwelling on losing him, and it made me

realise that life is so fragile that we need to really live and appreciate every moment. It also taught me that

no one can heal your pain but yourself and through the power of gratitude and acceptance I was able to

move forward.

I now say to myself, ‘I trust the process of life’ to remind me that even in the darkest hours there is still

light and possibility. I’ve learned not to take my family, my friends or my life for granted. I try to live

each day in a positive way and to make a difference wherever my path takes me.

Pursuing the dream… After graduating from Year 12 I moved to Sydney and began to pursue modelling

as a career. I quickly became independent and although my parents were there for backup should I have

needed them, basically from the time I moved to Sydney I supported myself and was accountable from an

early age for my own finances. Modelling is a tough world to break into and, despite my earlier success

in Dolly, like many other girls I faced a lot of rejection. It was tough but every time I felt down or lost a

job I would use the affirmations I read in Louise L. Hay’s books and say things to myself like; ‘I flow

freely and lovingly with life’ or ‘Life supports me’. These affirmations really helped me along the way.

Fortunately, I always secured enough work to support myself … and even sometimes found myself

working internationally. One time I was in Japan on a job and the company I was working for were

worried that I was too tanned for the image they wanted to portray. It was then I began to realise that