I was seventeen when I got my first tattoo and I thought I was pretty cool.
But that one tattoo looked a bit lonely on its own, so I got him a friend and then another friend, and another. I wanted to look tough. To make me look a bit meaner I also decided to stop shaving and to stop combing my hair which was long at the time.
REBELLING OR HIDING?
I never considered that I was trying to hide behind my image. At the time I saw it as rebelling.
It makes sense, now I look back, that I was trying to protect myself because I was sensitive, but I saw sensitivity as a weakness and not manly so I tried to cover it up with tatts and hair.
At this point in life I was running away from a break-up from my first long term relationship so I was feeling a lot of hurt. By the time I got from one side of the country to the other my beard was coming along and I was starting to get dreadlocks… cool.
The beard came and went a few times but was there most of the time, and over the years my dreadlocks grew to the point where I could nearly tuck them into my pants.
I was so unapproachable. I didn’t look very friendly, I actually looked quite scary and not really someone most people would be comfortable talking to if I was a stranger to them.
The image I put up as this rough and tough guy worked; people weren’t attracted to me which was great as it allowed me to keep my real self hidden away. That real self is a deeply caring man, full of love.
TATTOOS – THE TOUGH STICKERS TO MAKE ME FEEL TOUGH
When I got my tattoos it wasn’t as trendy and as accepted as it is now: these days it’s quite weird if you don’t have one, male or female.
It’s now more seen as art than what it was for me, a rebellion, but it still comes back to the same question; why do we feel the need to drastically change the way we look?
Of course we change our appearance and can do so all the time by clothes, haircuts, make-up etc., but tattoos are lifelong (unless you choose to get them removed).
So why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book by getting tattoos?
I know for me, part of it was I didn’t feel like I was tough enough to be a man so by getting some tough stickers, then that would prove how tough I was. So silly, because being a man isn’t about being tough.
For me a man is about being loving, tender, supportive and being able and willing to share my feelings. Those traits aren’t being weak. I now feel that they are strengths that I am choosing to embrace.
When I first got my tattoos and began growing my dreadlocks and beard, I wanted to distance myself from people. If I had tattoos and looked dodgy then people wouldn’t want to approach me and I wouldn’t have to show them who I really am. So I hid behind my tattoos, dreadlocks and beard for years… but no more.
THE REAL AND BEAUTIFUL ME BENEATH THE TATTS AND HAIR
A lot of my wanting to hide was from my lack of confidence within myself. So with low self esteem I created an image for myself so people wouldn’t want to be around me which is what I wanted at the time. It’s not that I dislike hair or beards, but I was using my beard and dreadlocks to stop people from seeing my real beauty that I didn’t even know existed. I now know this beauty is in us all. The beard and dreadlocks are gone: I still have the tattoos but I don’t wear them with the pride I once did and am not trying to put out the tough image.
Now I am a people person, I enjoy being around others, sharing me with them and vice versa. I don’t need an image to hide behind anymore because I am great just the way I am.
I am honest and loving and I have re-discovered how beautiful I am and I invite you to do the same.
Inspired by Serge Benhayon and the work of Universal Medicine
by Tony
Related Reading: Choices, I’ve Made A Few… Shockers!
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
What an amazing unfolding back to your true self, Tony. Your joy in re-discovering how beautiful you are shines through not just in your blog, but in your whole being in your ‘After Universal Medicine’ photograph.
Super gorgeous Tony, when we walk out of our hiding the whole universe get a blessing.
‘So why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book by getting tattoos?’ And why are so many men and women nowadays unhappy in their skin as more and more people are choosing to have a tattoo and most of the times more than one.
Tony this is beautiful to see how you have evolved into the loving sensitive man you are today, and none of your past photos resemble who you are today.
What a gorgeous transformation, thank you for sharing and inspiring us to be true to ourselves.
Great sharing Tony, it is difficult for young men to allow their sensitivity to be openly felt, and rebelling against the harsh realities of the world is something I have observed over the years, it is beautiful how you have allowed your sensitivity to grow, and the more men openly show their sensitivity as a strength the greater the reflection is for other young men to allow their sensitivity to be part of them without feeling the need to hide it or become something they are not.
So great to see the care in your face Tony, your eyes lit up and that warm open smile. It’s wonderful to feel how we all benefit from a man who is open to his feelings compared to one who is not. It’s important for society and our relationships that all men do honour their tenderness and sensitivity.
This blog is lovely to read, what a blessing you attended some Universal Medicine events and from there allowed your true self to be seen and felt, ‘ is about being loving, tender, supportive and being able and willing to share my feelings. Those traits aren’t being weak. I now feel that they are strengths that I am choosing to embrace.’
With regards to tattoos, its hard to find a young person walking down the street who doesn’t have one. Yesterday I saw a young woman with the whole of one leg covered in tattoos, back and front. It used to be a small piece on a part of the body sometimes not normally seen, but now its getting more extreme. You ask a great question – ‘Why do we feel the need to drastically change the way we look?’ And my understanding is that they are very painful to get. This is worth discussing.
There are many ways to hide our sensitivity. I’ve just realised my primary way was with food to dull me from feeling, and weight to provide an additional physical barrier. I’ve known about these 2 ways for a long time. What I didn’t know was exactly why I was using them – to feel less vulnerable and fragile. It’s great to get clear on this.
The power of what you’ve claimed here in your words resonates deeply Tony: “That real self is a deeply caring man, full of love.”
How often, is it the most deeply sensitive of beings who turns to a lifestyle of self-abuse and hiding? Are we willing to see that we’ve created a society that fosters such pain and inner turmoil? A society that keeps us from the deep care and love that all are capable of bringing?
We are all responsible for the predominant attitude that men need to be ‘tough’ and it is doing us immense harm. In this, the buck stops with the way we live our own lives – how we treat each other and honour also ourselves, that we may make not only reparation, but nurture a societal change that allows the true light of all to shine.
It takes great inner strength to step out of any facade we may have been hiding behind in life… and so it’s very powerful that you share this Tony. I would truly like to hear more about what occurred when you found yourself ’emerging’ and re-engaging openly with people and in life through the change you went through, as this is such a powerful transformation…
For me, nought has compared to being truly met and seen as all that I am by Serge Benhayon, and then many others now today – no expectations, no imposition, nothing ‘coming at me’ to fight me or shut me down… just the pure beauty of being held in real love. And the deepest of inspiration that I also intend to the best of my ability to see beyond the veneer and the facade, to the true and beautiful being who is always within, no matter how ‘scary’ the outer shell…
Such a powerful transformation Tony, it is crazy the lengths we go to protect and hide ourselves from our own amazingness. The before and after shots of you are so different it is truly beautiful to see you claim the gorgeous tender man you are and to reflect your loving choices to others every where you go.
“Why do we feel the need to drastically change the way we look?” A good question Tony, and as you mention it may often be because we don’t feel confident enough just as we are. Tattoos, piercings, cosmetic surgery – have all become even more commonplace these days. What if we were celebrated for us being who we truly are – without any need for ‘enhancements’? If sensitivity were honoured, would tattoos etc be so popular?
What a way to hide your sensitivity! It’s such an effective way that most people would have been sold on your tough guy image and had no idea of what lay beneath. How many others in society are doing that same thing?
This is super inspiring Tony. It’s interesting what you’ve mentioned about tattoos – As you’ve shared it is so common these days to have at least one tattoo, and if they are used as a form of protection, hardness or rebellion then a great question we need to ask is WHY we are looking to disconnect from each other and wear this armour?
This was such a pleasure to read Tony. I love that you have come to a place where you have let go of trying to protect what needn’t be protected and no longer need or want to hide who you are… choosing instead to embrace the deeply loving and caring you, for everyone to enjoy with you.
How beautiful it is to see the whole you rather than the snipet from behind the mask.
Wow Tony, it’s like night and day, your pictures of how you are now versus how you’ve been. It’s beautiful to see and feel your warmth shining out for all to see.
For starters what an incredible transformation but what is even more impressive is your detailed honesty, your willingness to expose your past choices is inspirational, thanks for sharing Tony.
“For me a man is about being loving, tender, supportive and being able and willing to share my feelings. Those traits aren’t being weak. I now feel that they are strengths that I am choosing to embrace.” So beautiful to read this Tony. I love the gentleness of men when they don’t hide under a veneer of toughness.
When a man is able to be tender, caring, and loving and able to show his sensitivity he is actually showing how willing he is to be connected to himself, and a willingness to be open with others. It is so easy and inspiring to spend time with men like this.
I remember being in a cafe when a group of bikers clad in leather jackets and tattoos walked in, and I was really taken aback because they were a really pleasant group of guys, but their attire and walk had ‘stay away’ written all over them. It always reminded me to never judge a book by its cover.
This is an incredibly gorgeous sharing Tony and I can feel how it takes true strength to simply be who you are without adopting a tough guy persona to hide the sweetness that is so naturally there.
I have a feeling that many men who read this would relate deeply to what you’ve shared Tony and feel a huge weight of expectation be lifted off their shoulders, as in sharing your experience, your inspiration gives all and any man permission to allow his own sensitivity and tenderness to resurface.
Tony thank you for sharing with the world your love and tenderness, you are a true man through and through and the world massively needs more of these qualities.
“So why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book by getting tattoos?” Good question Tony. Ensuring that you and everyone else focuses on the outside so that they do not choose to feel the truth of who they are on the inside.
It is interesting to consider that if rebellion is going against the norm and it is becoming more normal to have tatts and be shut down then it is more rebellious to not have them and to live and loving life.
wow Tony, I thought you looked really scary with long hair and tatts, but some people might actually find you more scary now in all your love and tenderness. Seeing such a beautiful open man can at time be quite confronting to people in a very different way.
I reckon more people have been burnt at the stake for being loving and speaking the truth than for hiding. Some people react to love and truth because it exposes all that is not of that and makes us process our hurts. This together with jealousy is one of the reasons we often hide our truth and sensitivity. However, in the long run we can’t keep our love in or we implode!
Tony this is an incredible transformation and truly inspirational.
Great blog Tony. I think we can all relate to hiding in some shape or form so that we keep people out, all because we don’t realise that the very vulnerabilities that we are trying desperately to tone down and avoid letting others see for fear of getting hurt, are actually our strengths. Once we realise this, the work can begin to bring down the walls. Tony – what a role model you now are for the countless people who cross your path – well done!
Thank you for coming out of hiding Tony and offering out your invitation ‘to do the same’. I accept.
Thank you Tony for sharing your transformation with us. I have learnt a little more about why others get Tattoos! I love art but I have only viewed Tattoos as spoiling a beautiful canvas, but you say that it is a way of hiding as well for some people and this makes sense also. Thank you for being a beautiful sensitive example for others.
You’ve given a real insight into the psychology behind tattooing – part rebellion, part withdrawal in response to being hurt or to not being able to express our innate sensitivity. The current tattoo culture also has a large element of ‘me too’ identification and fashion about it, with people as you say not being comfortable in or with their own skin and preferring to trade it in for a multi-coloured version that provides a manufactured unique identity which itself serves to mask the unique expression that is latent within.
Love the inspiration in your blog and invitation to rediscover our beauty Tony. The honesty with which you describe your attempts to cover up the deeply tender and loving man you are and the transformation as you peeled off the layers and returned to yourself is truly remarkable. Thank you for sharing.
Wow, great blog Tony. I love your photos, you look amazing. Thank you for sharing your story, it will inspire a lot of men to break down the image of being tough and hard as it only pushes people away. Tenderness and gentleness is in fact who we all are and to hide this we are hurting ourselves and people around us. Now, the world gets to experience the amazing you Tony. Pretty awesome to step away from the tough and hard image and shine the real you.
‘….why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book by getting tattoos?’ I hadn’t actually thought of it this way Tony but with all the pictures and images I am seeing on the bodies of so many people around me it’s a great question for us all to ponder on and resolve.
Setting the standard for all likened men Tony. Inspirational.
Wow your before and after photos Tony are truly amazing – you are a living miracle and show what is possible when we let go of our hurts and live the love we naturally are.
I love what you have said here Paula. The hiding away we are doing, in whatever form, is only ever from ourselves. The layers of protection we build only serve to harm us not to save us, and as a result the world gets such a lesser version of the amazing being that we truly are.
And the layers of protection only serve to keep love from being expressed outwardly and love being felt and accepted from others outside of ourselves. It’s crazy we have formed coping mechanisms that achieve the complete opposite from that which we are aiming to achieve.
Such a difference Tony – the pictures and your words tell the same story… so unapproachable and scary when you were looking to protect yourself (practically a Halloween costume!), to someone who now looks approachable, and writes with love. You’ve so obviously opened up, and its gorgeous.
An amazing transition Tony the photos say it all
There are so many ways in which we have protected and shielded our true sensitivity and delicateness and I loved reading about yours Toni as it gives all of us an insight and reminder of the fact that we are all the same inside and how healing it is to meet each other on that level instead of on the level of our hurts and protections.
Great point Carolien and very inspirational to bring deeper understanding to everybody who is protecting their sensitivity and tenderness behind toughness.
This is an amazing transformation. “For me a man is about being loving, tender, supportive and being able and willing to share my feelings. Those traits aren’t being weak. I now feel that they are strengths that I am choosing to embrace” – beautifully said.
I loved reading this, its beautiful to feel how we always have had this beautiful soul within us, but when we can’t handle it the choices we make are not always beneficial. It is great to see you returned to the beautiful open man you are.
What an absolutely beauty-full you you’ve chosen to be Tony. What a celebration, a gift you’re sharing with everyone every day, gracing everyone you meet with your big, bright light.
Wow, what a transformation, Tony! Truly inspirational. Your love and beauty was well hidden in your before pics, but sure shine through in your ‘afters’. Amazing to share with the world, thank you.
Thank you Tony for your very honest blog. It was great to read it again. I did not ever do the tattoos but I did go through a phase of long hair and beard accompanied by doing the traveller thing around the world. I can relate to your comment about thinking I was rebelling against the world as I knew it, but little did I know that I was actually travelling a well worn path of hiding and avoiding facing up to my issues which many others were doing the same thing or had done the same thing for centuries before me. In some ways it actually took me further away from who I really was because when we have an image that works, we tend to cling to it even though we know it is not really us or true.
There is true joy in in this blog, it is lovely to share in – thank you. “I have rediscovered how beautiful I am and I invite you to do the same.” What an invite, to see you speak from your lived experience of finding your own beauty within as a man, who would not want to do the same…
And shine he does, and I am the lucky woman who gets to be his wife. Our relationship has given me the ability to see the potential we have when in relationship with each other, and it is both magical and beautiful everyday. Our relationships have the capability to expand on this beauty every day. Imagine how grand relationships could be if we all related to each other in a way that made this possible.
Beautiful Toni and I agree, all of our relationships have the potential to be blessed with the magic of an ever deepening expansion of this beauty when we open ourselves to it. I cannot but wonder if we all related to each other openly like this how different today’s world would be.
Tony, your beauty shines now. It is not just in your haircut and shave, but your gentle beauty is felt in your eyes.. a testament to the changes you have made in your life.
What an inspiring transformation Tony, which clearly shows the power of healing our hurts and returning to being who we naturally are.
The layers of protection are indeed interesting and varied. Tattoos a decade or two ago may have seemed a more obvious form of protection and keeping people out, but now they are so common and have become so normalised, that although it might ‘seem’ that their intent is different (ie as an art form etc) does it perhaps instead expose exactly how much of society is still seeking this protection….
Yes the tattoos have become common, but that does not make it any less revealing that they are there to hide who we truly are, to take our attention away from the real us that is waiting patiently behind them. To protect us…. from what? The world we think is out to get us, or from connecting to who we truly are and how gorgeous others are as well.
That’s Beautiful what you have shared Carolien. How you have been inspired by Tony’s coming back to himself, supports me in how I too can have an understanding for people that come from different walks of life than me. This is a great support for me in accepting and letting people in, Thank you.
A beautiful blog Tony and an inspiration to other men to embrace their natural tenderness and fragility, and to not hide behind the tough image expected by society.
Thank you for the invite Tony, would be lovely to get to know you. Great you have come out from the dreads and beard to reveal the real and loving you.
First time reading your blog Tony. I also have a tattoo. Even writing the word down now is strange for me. When I got it , I was 45 years old. Not something I am proud of and in hindsight I really see how lost I was thinking it would give me anything. So lost I willingly ‘mutilated’ my body and suffered(it was painful)!
Wonderful to see your transformation and your inviation to other men to show who they really are.
What a celebration of a blog sharing. I loved revisiting this gorgeous transformation. I also love that you offer it back as an invitation: ‘I have re-discovered how beautiful I am and I invite you to do the same.’
Having met the beautiful and tender man you are today Tony it was eye opening to read just what you were prepared to do to yourself to hide. Eye opening as everyone has met scary looking men with tattoos, or called them men with ‘tough stickers’. So how terrible is it that many men, most likely for very similar reasons to yours, feel like they need tough stickers to protect their exquisite tenderness and sensitivity? On the other hand, how wonderful for the world to be blessed by you today, a man standing in his true beauty and true strength.
Being tattooed was an acceptance in a way, an acceptance into living a life that allowed me not to live who I naturally was.
Tony, what a fabulous blog, I love how you unashamedly state the beauty of you. What an amazing transformation. Thank you.
This is a truly beautiful blog Tony. Amazing how much you invested in your look to make sure no one would even fathom who you are. Yet the most amazing thing is that you have realised what game you were playing and put a stop to it to start sharing your beauty with the world.
What an amazing transformation – thank you for sharing the truth behind your former looks.
What a transformation! I put up a similar image to protect my hurts and to distance myself from people. It was as if I rejected myself first, or created an image that was not so socially acceptable, then when I was rejected I could hide behind that. It is interesting when we look back that we can feel the sensitivity we always held but at the time weren’t able to acknowledge.
I love it Alexis – it gives me the image of cave man -> superman! Quite an awesome transformation from Tony – thank you heaps for sharing your beauty with us all Tony.
What is glorious now Tony is you are the complete opposite and a true inspiration of how loving and tender we can be as men.
Beautiful blog Tony. The difference in your photos is quite startling with the latest one showing you so much more at ease with yourself. It’s great that you no longer feel the need to hide behind your hair and that you can show the world the gentle, tender and amazing man that you are.
I relate to what you say here – and for the record, you look much more a real man now than you ever did with dreads!!
Beautifully honest and touching. Thank you for sharing your powerful claiming of who you truly are. Gorgeous to feel.
I really enjoyed reading this article and seeing the hurting boy hiding behind his dreadlocks, beard and tatts emerging to stand tall as the gentle and tender man open to all.
What a gorgeous account of gorgeousness rediscovering itself! I love the strength in your vulnerability, the self-trust you have developed in your own tender, loving heart. Every time we meet, your eyes are sparkling and when you write about what it now means to be a man, you clearly live it. Thank you for being the natural wonder you are!
The lightness in your eyes now compared to the before photograph is so great to see as I can tell that you are very at ease with yourself. I never considered that we adopt images/looks so that we can hide or so that others can’t get close to us. This is a really great sharing that I will take some time to reflect on. I used to have my nose pierced and did this two or three times. Having read your blog I can tell that the piercing was my marker of looking cool. Something I chose to wear to let the world know and convince myself that I was OK. I certainly was not comfortable in my own skin then. However I have been having esoteric healing sessions (healing modalities taught by Universal Medicine) for the last 6 years and have had no desire in that time to pierce any part of my body as the focus is now on living more lovingly and harmoniously with myself and others, rather than how I can look cool.
I can totally relate to this Shevon. I had my nose pierced and my ears stretched at one point. They were there to show I was alternative and that I was cool. I didn’t feel comfortable within myself nor was I at all loving with myself and these external markers were there to give me some kind of confirmation to who I wanted to be.
Tony, You are so beautiful.
I woke up this morning feeling some of my “old life” and literally realized that I WAS IN DISGUISE all through high school (I wore grungy-gas-station-boy clothes) because my self esteem was so low, I felt totally unable to shine/be myself and didn’t want anyone to recognize me that way…then the first blog I find is yours, about hiding yourself!
It is so clear that you were hiding before as I feel I can’t even find you in the first photo.
I love seeing how much your eyes sparkle in your recent picture and I feel this beggining to happen in me too. A Huge Harray!
How beautiful to read Jo. There may be another blog in the making…!
And knowing Tony, yes, boy do his eyes shine – every time I see him.
Brilliant Jo, it is absolutely gorgeous to look someone in their eyes and see them sparkle. The light and spark they carry is a blessing to everyone.
Thank you Tony for sharing you, and how you have turned your life completely around. It is lovely that you included some photographs for us to see visually the amazing transformation that has taken place within you.
Amazing Tony – YOU are amazing. To look in those eyes now – it’s an absolute ‘no brainer’ that this is the true you, a beautiful, compassionate man. Celebrating with you, that there is now no need to hide – You are there, in your smile, your depth of connections with people… And how truly blessed we all are.
Tony you are a truly beautiful, tender, loving man married to an equally beautiful, gorgeous, loving woman – Tony and Toni, we are all blessed to have you in our lives.
Amazing blog Tony, thank you for sharing! I had to keep looking back and forward at your before and after shots… I’m so amazed! Look at you in all your glory there on the grass, just beautiful!!! Love it!
Your sentence “So why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book by getting tattoos?”, really exposed for me the hiding behind the tattoo; the attempt at disguising one’s true self. I was aware of the various fronts people put up with their tattoos, but I really felt the depth of it with that sentence…
Again, thanks, Tony!
Yes Janene I found that sentence really revealing about the depth of hiding behind tattoos and this coupled with the increasing prevalence of them it is no wonder that there are so many who are lost to themselves and the rest of humanity. Tony’s blog offers a beacon of light in the darkness demonstrating that there is always a way to return to ourselves if we choose.
Like. Like. Like. Like your blog. Like your before and after pictures. Like YOU.
I love your honesty and how you are not afraid to be a man and show how sensitive you are these days.
Tony, I really enjoyed reading your blog! How great it is that you have shared your experiences, and your story is very touching. What a great role model you are for boys and teenagers as they grow up to be men.
Hi Tony, wow what a difference – and you letting yourself feel and heal all of that that is very inspiring. I was also really touched when I read “to stop people from seeing my true beauty that I didn’t even know existed” because I don’t feel I have ever heard or read a man saying that about himself – ‘my true beauty’ – let alone coming from a place that feels completely true as it is with you, and that felt really lovely to read. Thank you for sharing,
Awesome Tony, you are a beauty-full man. Thank you for sharing your unfolding with us. A familiar story for many I would guess but one that not all would see or admit to if questioned. I love your honesty about wanting to hide behind the tattoos and hair. I have to say I could almost smell it too from the photo above so I could see that it maybe would push others away. It’s great how you have opened up and embraced the amazingness and beauty of you. A true inspiration for many.
I just love this blog, Tony. You feel so tender and loving and strong. What a powerful reflection for other men and boys, and women! Thank you for your amazing expression.
Tony, what a beautiful presentation. “Why do we hide? What are we hiding from?” are some questions that you clearly answered for most of us in “A lot of my wanting to hide was from my lack of confidence within myself”. A lovely play-full image “why can we be so unhappy in our own skin that we choose to turn our skin and body into a colouring-in book?”.
Tony, how courageous and wonderful that you made the decision to open your heart and let us all in… your blog has the potential to inspire so many, men and women, of all ages… I would love to shout it from the roof tops and then some! Thank you.
The inspiration, presentations and workshops of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine coupled with the dedication and consistency of our own healing journeys have indeed been life-changing. A reflection to all that truth, love, joy and harmony are simply a matter of choice and life-style. Heart-felt thanks to ‘The Way of the Livingness’. ❤
I was reading and suddenly came upon the photo of you standing on the grass – before I knew it, I had said out loud “Oh, you are beautiful!”… Thank you for for sharing your story. It will indeed inspire many and not just men… Your unfold-ment back to the glorious person that you are has been a joy to watch and how awesome that you have not just claimed that but embodied it.
They say a picture tells a thousand words. In your case Tony, your pictures tell us much more and breaks down the belief that men have to be tough to survive. I love the way you have shown us what strength in a man is really about.
I have found that by changing my stance so I don’t have to ‘prove’ myself as a man, then I have less pressure in my life to be something that I am not. And thank you for the invite in your last line… count me in!
Thank you Tony for putting your ‘true self’ out there – a wonderful role model for us all as we peel back the ‘stickers’ that we have all covered ourselves with not to be truly seen.
You are the most amazingly tender man Tony and I am blessed to be your wife… even your tatts and beard could not hide your true beauty from me. But now your beauty has deepened and everyone gets to feel the amazing man you are. Thank you for shining the true you, it is an inspiration and gift to us all.
I love that Toni – that even his tatts and beards couldn’t hide his beauty from you. No matter what we try to bury ourselves in, our tenderness, beauty and love are always there. It can be hard to see, but it’s still there.
It is hard to see at times Nikki, but I have found this only to be the case when I hold someone at arms length. In my life I have got to meet a huge variety of people and the one thing I realised long ago was when I sit and talk to someone, one on one, there is a tenderness and beauty about them that otherwise may be hidden by the way they put themselves across. I once got to meet a man that was recently released from prison, had spent all his 44 years in prison except for 12 years here and there. He was a sweet caring man that cared much for his fellow man, even though his actions, at times, displayed the complete opposite of this. This blew me away at the time!
Nikki I love that you say this. It’s so true. Sometimes I find it tricky to spot the tenderness and beauty sometimes but that’s more a reflection of me not seeing that in myself. I’ve found it so inspiring seeing people like Tony show their tenderness, sensitivity and beauty.
Without people shinning like this I suspect I’d have continued thinking people were inextricably linked to the camouflage they hide themselves in. Tony and other Universal Medicine students have shown me, right before my eyes, that we are all amazing because I’ve seen them make choices where they no longer choose to sling mud on themselves and are shinning bright.
So true Nikki, no matter how hard we try to hide our beauty, our tenderness and love it still comes through because this is who we are. We can just feel it and some people are more willing to look beneath the surface to find the God within. If we look past the facade of people we will see that we are all the same.
This applies equally to ourselves as it does to others. I am currently overseas where I have had food that I do not usually have and I am out of rhythm. My body has not been feeling that great. It was easy for me to slip into not feeling good. I reminded myself that my light was not affected underneath what may have been presenting in the body. God is within me no matter what.
Wow, what a beautiful transformation from where you had been… Totally inspirational. Thank you Tony.
Wow – the tender love in your eyes is BEAUTIFUL – it sure took an enormous effort to hide that. Thank you Tony for the grace of your sharing…
I agree Helen, Tony’s before and after photos show a totally inspirational transformation that can be clearly seen in his whole body but mostly in the love and sparkle that has come back into his eyes and shows us all what can happen when we start to nourish and take care of ourselves.
It is funny how we can go to so much effort to hide the beauty that we are. Once we accept who we are then we more willing to share our beauty.
Woohoo Toni… How awesome for the world that you are now standing as the fully claimed, loving and beautiful man that you are. I loved the images that are there to support your beautiful sharing. Pics don’t lie!
Beautiful Tony, it is such a joyous and stunning moment when we realise that the very things we had always considered as weaknesses are in fact our strengths, our divine and beautiful gifts to the world – and what a gift you are! Thank you for unearthing your true self and sharing it with us all. Your joy, love and fun is clearly there to be seen in your eyes and your smile – great post and very inspiring, especially as you look 10 years younger rather than 9 years older!
How beautiful you are, Tony. It is so beautiful to read you claiming yourself and claiming what in truth we men are – tender, caring, loving and beautiful as we are without our lifestyle identifications. Thank you for expressing our Truth.