ScottishJulia

This is my horse Valerie. I got back into horse ownership 3 years ago after a 17 year break. Out of all the horses I could (should) have chosen, I obviously decided to pick the most terrifying and challenging of all. A fiercely dramatic red head with the presence of an angry dragon. 

At the time I wondered if it was ego or alignment? Are animals sent to mirror back the parts of us that have yet to be healed and discovered?

Her purchase was amidst a personal life storm-something told me I needed to search for a part of myself that had been truly lost. Little did I know it would ultimately lead to me finding a whole new version. Far braver and far more clear in my bounadries.

Horses are deeply spiritual and energetic animals. They can sense your soul and are experts in communicating – if only we were consciously expanded enough to understand them better.

At a younger age I was clueless, it was more about the riding then that horse. Now I see life through a very different lens. My horse is the ultimate teacher and I simply observe in awe. She will tolerate a LOT.  We really don’t  deserve animals.

However- I have witnessed her time and time again simply leave (jump) from any situation that makes her feel trapped. She is very bold and unapologetic in her departures too.  I learned that each of us has a limit.

I think that maybe we need to move a little more like Valerie. 

When the going gets tough – the tough get going.

Julia xx

2024 was the breaking and 2025 was the start of the rebuild. In April of this year  I had a very prominent photo shoot in my  home town of Stornoway at the incredible Lews castle. The images are to be a part of a future work project and in all honesty that entire week felt exceptionally pivotal.

There was a shift and a marking of an updated version of self, not just in the form of beautiful images but a confirmation of undeniable change within that was simply reflecting on the outside. When you are put back together with honesty – not a soul watching can ever question the results.

I was shooting with the exceptionally talented Eleanor Mackay and she handed me a magazine for some shots. I shared some of the images and the magazine in question was Your Scottish wedding. I thought no more of it and returned to Glasgow.

It is November now and I have just spent a full day at Culdees castle modelling for ‘Your Scottish wedding’ – their January 2026 edition. They saw the images and 6 months later, they reached out.

When you are working behind the scenes, head down, filled with faith and a trust that nobody around you could ever comprehend – now and again a little magic comes along to keep your spirits high and firm back to you that you are right on schedule.

The veil is thin – be bold in your aspirations.

Julia xx 

Many a storm you would have felt and maybe many a storm still to come. That doesn’t mean you need to fear them, I would suggest that when it clears you take a look at what it has washed away.

2024 was a storm for my history books but it cleared the path of the past. It took me to my knees and that grounded me fully.

I took that isolation as a sign to get to work. Unpack myself, identify traits and recognise unwelcome yet protective patterns. Being alone is not silent, its defeaning and ultimately defining.

Don’t get me wrong, it felt messy at times and so heart crushingly confusing. A future I felt so sure of-completely dismantled and key characters removed from the game. Essentially it is a game and I was free now to make the next move.

The heart can break but it can also repair and a person who heals fully and alone is a force to be reckoned with. Not because it has makes you hard, quite the opposite. It makes you whole.

The mind can- in your weakness play on your fragile state. I think the ego sees that as protection and that’s important to note. Feelings of worthlessness and failure are perfectly normal and par for the bumpy course.

There is often a safety in those feelings, at least you know the outcome and you are some what prepared. Push through and as you knit back together – the really good stuff happens. 

You learn. You see the storm as an opportunity for change. A necessary unravelling of the old to make way for the new. Yes- the unknown is scary and feels vulnerable. Trust me when I tell you that the other side of chaos breathes calm and the other side of broken brings bravery. 

You become open to receive what has been searching for you all along. When the fog lifts – it gifts you a life view that is crystal clear. You will be shown yourself and others- exactly as they truly are. Understand why you are being shown this and move accordingly.

Wobbles still occur but your reactions are smaller now and you process them quickly, with master precision. They don’t leave scars anymore, they leave a  better understanding of self and some very welcome grace.

I know you may feel like you are battling the storm right now…….but storms get tired

too.

Julia xx 

Can’t we skip back to the 90’s for some gentle escapism ? Maybe in the form of a little Sex & the city life romance.

Surely there is still a place for written inspo? I know I sound old when I say social media has taken over and for the most part I have signed up to it too and (disclaimer) I do find many benefits.

There is just something deep down that still hankers for the simplicity again. I do crave some time out but is my brain being reprogrammed in the doom of the scroll?

I don’t mind admitting that I enjoy observing behaviours online and have certainly recognised parts of myself that once happily played a “role”

I prefer to use social media now in the hope of aligned opportunity & light entertainment- it just doesn’t need to be my entire personality perhaps?

I used to blog – many years ago and I forgot that typing is a wonderful creative outlet.

I think some of us could be getting pulled into the vortex of technology under the pretence that we just want to share “little bits of life” but in truth we are ultimately hoping to crack the internet and grab a little fame just like the characters we tune in to watch ?

You might not wish to admit that but I can certainly unpack my own thoughts here and hold my hands up for you! It can be our secret.

What you will find in my blogs is honesty – break downs of a 45 year old mind and a woman that has started again more times than your favourite movie.

Does that make me a failure – I prefer to consider that each time I restart I move a bit differently and potentially with a little more savvy.

2024 humbled me royally (we can get into that another day) but in that humbling came a lot of positive change and those parts I feel a NEED to share.

We can’t all just be here to tick the boxes and serve our time – surely some of us must be here to create – in ways that help those who don’t feel quite so comfortable in those systems.

You do fit.

We just need to find the right boxes. (Mine typically contain shoes ) I haven’t got the mind to unpack that today.

Let’s chat again soon. I’m off to watch The holiday on repeat & procrastinate over dating sites! Take from that what you will.

Julia xx