Heather Murphy

Lest we forget.

This is my late grandpa, Ken Harman. A member of the Royal Canadian Navy, a Cowboy, a pilot, and Métis man. Outside of his service, he faced health challenges from the conditions he worked in.

On both sides of my family, there are many who fought and served for Turtle Island - and many who still do.

Thank you for your bravery and service. We acknowledge and remember you.

Freedom is worth fighting for.

True to my nature, I’ve been breaking some rules in this weekend of Pleine Air painting with in .
What a challenging and inspiring experience. It’s a little mind melting but really uplifting to learn from other artists.
As more of a portrait painter, I decided to paint my mother . She’s in her element with landscape painting and it’s an honour to be with her watching her grow too. It made the landscape less daunting and I was in my own element doing what I love.
Love being a part of this. So full of gratitude.

Off to spend the weekend painting with my favourite person - my mama!

And it shall be noted… white shoes are a poor choice for walking this big ol’ scallywag.

If I could tell you how many tears I’ve cried about carrying it all on my own it would seriously damage my street cred.

All the bill payments. The snotty noses. The trips to emergency. The middle of the night worries. The cuddles. The screaming into pillows, and sometimes the back of the car.

It gets easier when we look to animals. How many mothers in the animal kingdom raise their young alone? Bears. Tigers. I don’t know? I asked you! Right now, I’m receiving some teaching from bears.

Bears don’t victimize themselves, even if they fall victim to their circumstances. They do what they need to do to survive and to take care of their young to the best of their ability.

I’m from a long line of bear women. Even though the tears sometimes come, so does the freedom to take care of my own needs and trust that even while I’m riding solo I’m not alone. I have an amazing community who’ve accepted me, that I’ve built, and my family who are always with me. That, and if our creator’s eye is on the sparrow, will he not watch out for me and my little ones?

I am wrapped in the arms of love and my children are loved deeply by many.

If you feel alone, lonely, defeated, or abandoned please dust yourself off. Dry your tears mama. I’m right here with you. We’re not the first to do it alone, and we won’t be the last. You’ve got work to do and a lot of it is taking care of you.

My mentors and say that at any given time a person has three books in them.

Almost a year ago I joined the writer’s adventure and I feel like about 673.2 books have tried to come out of me.

There was a point of surrender when I decided to “lay in the soil and let the story grow through me.”

This is that point where everything I’ve been writing and wondering and researching is starting to make such perfect sense. I realize that in my quest to just let it evolve - I’ve evolved and grown too.

I’m not fully in control of shaping this narrative. It’s shaping me.

I can’t wait to share it with you.

I’ve gone through seasons where I want to hide. Or apologize for feeling beautiful, or dull my sparkle. Or where I’ve felt fat, or like a big phoney. Or so tired that I couldn’t engage with anyone else’s story but the ones inside my home...

I’ve had seasons where I hide behind feeling or looking great because inside I was falling apart.

I’ve also been in seasons where I’m a tiger. Where I know I’m fierce and I don’t care if I’m seen or not. If I’m enjoyed or not. I do what I’m called to because I’m compelled, inspired, motivated. I hunt, and I choose to win.

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m feeling like a tiger.

I’ve been working on my soul. On my creativity. On my businesses. And my body.

I’m not taking any prisoners.

I’m not apologizing. I’m feeling beautiful, taking up my space, and doing my thing.

If you’re reading this and you’ve been hiding too - I see you. It’s just a season. You’ll find your roar again.

Photo Credit:

Feeling beautiful in these hand crafted earrings by of

I heard Shana on the radio six years ago and knew I needed to help her in her business. At the same time, I had a big secret. She saw me, understood, and taught me some self defence and helped me find my power.

Times change, relationships ebb and flow but I’m thankful to be listening to the call of Creator and where he tells me to go.

Thank you for the hand-crafted gift

This year on International Youth Day, the theme is creating a world for all ages!

Our youth are so crucial to our future. Between childhood and adulthood, they are dynamic changemakers and have fresh and important opinions. If we listen to our youth and celebrate all the colour they bring to this world, we can create a world where everyone belongs.

International Youth Day was created in 1999 by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly observing different themes each year. This year’s focus aims to break down agist career barriers.“ On a societal level, ageism prevents us from thinking and designing policies and social services that adopt a life-course approach and are fair for all ages.”

As we recover from the global pandemic, it is important to break these barriers not just to find a new normal but to build a better world than before.

Let’s leverage each generation's strengths and knowledge together this International Youth Day!

🌸 Meet Miss Daisy 🌸
To me she is a reminder that our creator hears the desires of our hearts - even when we aren’t confident enough to whisper them.
She’s the sweetest thing and exactly what I needed in this season. Thank you For Love of Doodles for helping me make this happen.
Miss Priss doesn’t know what she thinks yet but with ‘s help I’m sure we will get them both in shape in no time!

Have you thought about what it could mean to “re-indiginize” the way we do business? I can’t help but see the richness of wisdom in reindiginizing branding. So much so, I wrote this article for on the

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/03/15/re-indigenizing-branding-through-sense-of-place/?sh=4de5f0ef7420

Don’t tame your wildness. Not for social norms. Not to make anyone more comfortable. Wild doesn’t have to mean reckless. It can be the embrace of your natural gifts and disposition. Know yourself, and let your wild flag fly. I see you. And I love to see when you’re yourself.

My sweet little niece is three! Happy birthday (yesterday) my girl! Auntie loves baking cookies and being a diva with you.

It wasn’t until I was 12 I learned that I was Métis. Somehow, I thought there was one indigenous woman who inserted herself into our family line then stepped out - leaving everyone who remained as white. As an adult woman, I now understand how silly this is. Of course, these children were raised as Cree, and marrying other Cree partners, and Métis alike. They lived in Red River, and migrated to Northern Saskatchewan - where they hid their identity to protect their children and find a sense of belonging. They were part of the earliest Métis culture development: a culture that was lively, boisterous, and with their own customs and traditions.

Years later I gave birth to three white-skinned sons who have full “Indian Status.” When I knew they were coming, I was determined they would hold pride in their heritage as cree men (with blue eyes and blonde hair). When applying for my own Métis card, I thought that, somehow, I would be rejected because I was “not Métis enough”. Now, when my oldest son feels he is “too white” to be Cree, I feel the echoes of our ancestors - not knowing where they belonged.

Through diving into my rich culture and heritage my sense of identity, place, and community has evolved to where I am so proud be a Métis woman.

Today, and every day, I am proud to observe National Indigenous Peoples Day as a Métis woman and to help my children connect with their sense of identity as little Cree men. First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people have contributed so much to society and have cultures, beliefs, and practices that are just as diverse as rich with wisdom.

Happy National Indigenous People’s Day

Quiet nights alight
The flicker of the flame
Flick of the brush
Settling of the noise
Like sediment falling
Clarity rising
A meditative state
Photos by .photos

How are you spending your long weekend?
I wanted to be gardening outside but found myself in a position where my body needed more rest than I anticipated.
A surgery, a week in bed, and then I caught bronchitis.
I had so many ideas for what I’d like to do. Writing. Painting. Planting the three sisters 🌽 🫘 🎃 with my boys and some sacred medicines while we do teachings.
Sometimes, life calls us to pause. Sometimes, our bodies bring us to a halt.
It can be frustrating when you’re fighting it. And freeing if you will let it wash over you.
My garden is not planted, but my soul is becoming renewed. I had deep conversations with my sons and I taught them a few things in the kitchen. I humbled myself and called for help, and people who love me helped. I asked for grace, and grace was given (even by the toughest audience - myself)
This is a healing and fanning dreams back alive weekend for me.
How about you?

We do not become healers.
We came as healers. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become storytellers.
We came as carriers of the stories
we and our ancestors actually lived. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not become writers.. dancers.. musicians.. helpers.. peacemakers. We came as such. We are.
Some of us are still catching up to what we are.
We do not learn to love in this sense.
We came as Love. We are Love.
Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are.

-Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Finally, I wasn’t trying to hide.
This is the first photoshoot I’ve had where I wasn’t trying to hide my curves. I showed them off. It was a big deal for me, because with my health my weight varies A LOT. I just get used to myself then it drops, or rises. And I’m at a point in my life where I want to enjoy it in all its variations.
We are hard on ourselves and shame ourselves for things that are both in and out of our control. What if we dropped the shame and focused on health and hope?
This my bootay. She’s here to stay. I’m taking up my space and I’m not apologizing for it.
Xoxoxo
H

Our new pet water 😍 just kidding…. But seriously excited about cycling this new fish tank before we pick out some fishies 🐠 🐟

Thanks for the shoutout!

is really about belonging and a

Heather, a , founded Authentically to allow others to unleash fierce , build & reach customers online.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/03/15/re-indigenizing-branding-through-sense-of-place/

⚡️ Empowered Women Empower Women ⚡️
You never know what anyone around you is going through. Lift your head high and remind others to do the same.
👑

Mother bear, our teacher.

I have a deep longing to lie in the soil and let the story grow through me. It is vibrating with life and anticipation. I have spent years preparing the earth for this very season of my life. Stripped of barriers, rocks, weeds and plants I have nourished this ground with a complete unknowing of what would be built in the place of the life I had thought I needed and wanted. The undoing and unwinding of the stories spun in youth. The stories of female identity, Irish roots, and beating Métis heart. Fragments of truth enmeshed with the expectations of femininity… grow through me.