Ms. Pinky Ghelani is a Kenyan Media personality, a UNHCR Brand Ambassador, a motivational speaker as well as a TEDx speaker. One glance at her and the person that stares at you is a confident, carefree woman who has everything figured out. But then they often say, don’t judge a book by its cover. Behind the demeanour of confidence is a story that will at first sadden you but ultimately inspire you to love yourself. In sharing her story, Pinky inspires her audience to elect to make their lives a priority. She is of the strong opinion that you must be the change you want.
The Beginning of the Journey on Self Love.
Pinky’s journey of self-love commenced on 27th November 2016. It was two months shy of her 40th birthday.
One this date, she accompanied her 5 years old daughter who had been unwell for three weeks to the doctor. Perhaps it was a premonition of sorts but Pinky woke up feeling unwell. She had a stomach ache. The ache was to the extent that she opted to skip her much loved morning cup of tea.
In seeking to be comforted, she called her mother who immediately went over to be with her daughter. Attributing Pinky’s unease to her daughter Ariana’s illness, she reassured her that; “Whatever is wrong with Ariana, we will find out”. With this reassurance, they both accompanied Ariana to Gertrude’s Paediatric Hospital where she was scheduled for a blood test.
All Hell Breaks Loose
At the point where blood needed to be drawn for testing, the doctor had requested Pinky’s mum to hold Arianna down to restrain her movement during the procedure. It was just at the point where blood was being drawn for testing that the imaginable happened.
Pinky’s mum relaxed her grip on Adrian’s protesting legs soliciting a look of dismay from the attending doctor. The dismay was further escalated when he glanced at Pinky’s mum who now lay slumped and shaking on the bed. Her face started pulling to one side. What was to be revealed later was that she was experiencing a full-blown stroke right. All this right in front of their eyes.
Although they were located in a hospital, its paediatric status was not equipped to deal with a case of a stroke. And so an ambulance was sourced and she was quickly rushed to the hospital. The stroke diagnosis was confirmed. Unfortunately, the damage had been extensive and to date, she has never regained her mobility nor her speech.
Super Hero No More.
The unfolding events were nothing short of devastating. Pinky describes her mother as having been a graceful and independent woman. She was her superhero. To now seen her rendered helpless and dependant on others was just heart-breaking. Although her mother is still alive today, she in a way lost her on that very day.
The First Priority in Your Life is You – The Light Bulb Moment.
“I started looking at my mother’s life and I realized one thing that my mother did was give herself to everyone except herself, and then I had a light bulb moment.”
Pinky reveals that it was upon that realization that she resolved that she will never allow that to happen to her.
She purposed to encourage her inner circle and the broader circle to learn about self-love.
That was the beginning of her journey of self-love began.
The understanding that if you do not give yourself to you, and only give yourself to others consistently, you will be empty. It is only by giving your life priority that you can be able to
give because you cannot pour from an empty cup.
Pinky’s 8 Useful Nuggets on Self Love
- There is absolutely nothing wrong with being selfless.
- The priority in your life is your life.
- You must nourish yourself internally to be able to help others. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
- Self-love is not selfish. It is indeed an act of love.
- For you to show up complete and at your optimum, you must love yourself first.
- No matter what other people think, no matter what other people say, the only way that you come first is if you allow yourself to come first.
- Ultimately, when you allow yourself to come first, you fall in love with yourself.
At one point of her conversation on self- love, Pinky entertains the notion that perhaps her mother’s illness was nature’s way of pausing her life of giving, and switching it over to be on the receiving end.
Could it be true?
How much dose of self-love are you receiving?
If your gauge is not at a maximum, perhaps it’s time to inject a full dose of self- love lest nature does the pausing for you.
Start the self-love journey today.
To learn more about Pinky Gelani, join her online as she hosts the forum; “WHAT WOMEN WANT”