Tag Be A Beacon For Others

 I wrote this a few years ago for another website that no longer exists. I thought it was an appropriate time to share it again. 

    When I finally decided to break free from the cycle of abuse that I had put myself in and open my eyes, I started to change.  I started to see that I no longer wanted to be treated bad no matter what anyone said.  I had been conditioned to keep my mouth shut and just take it, but I have not been very good at that. I learned that keeping my mouth shut and just taking the abuse made me very sick (physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually).  I learned that I could only take so much abuse before I became a ticking timebomb, a virtual volcano, complete with spewing lava and I learned that I can be not so nice when backed into a corner.
     At first, I was running because of fear. I was afraid, but you see I wasn’t afraid my ex-husband would abuse me again. I was sure of that, 100% guaranteed. I knew that if it actually came down to it I was very strong, and he would not hurt me ever again. What I was afraid of is that he would suck me back in with his victim-conscious thinking and the blame game working on my guilt and my demons.  I was afraid that he would say he would change and start to and I would see the good in him again (the lost little boy I wanted to save), and I would go back to try to see it through and lose everything I had just gained in my new-found independence. 
     To completely break ties since the court did not seem to take 15 charges seriously I picked up and moved down the highway to the shores of Lake Ontario and near the big city. In order to this I had to leave everything I felt comfortable with behind, except my personal belongings.  I had to sell my home that I had possessed for 16 years with my children very quickly and got screwed royally.  I had to leave my Grandmother and Father who lived around the corner, my children and my granddaughter to have a new life. A life to begin rebuilding my safety and security to finally heal from all my trauma. 
     This was huge for me.  I was an isolated person that really only went out into the big bad World once and got shit on badly. Every time I wanted to do something to help others I ended up more hurt.  I did not have a solid support system around me to do the things I had done.  When I moved I knew very few people (like 3 people where I lived). I felt like a new kid in school in grade one with very bad social anxiety and extremely socially awkward.  I honestly at 45 did not know how to act around people.  I had been isolated with my children and I had quite honestly never grown up, I had just managed to get by.  I had become my Son’s friend, not their Mother.  So, I had to start learning about who I really was and what I really wanted.  It was time for a paradigm shift.  I had never met someone that was like me until I met someone who from the moment I met him felt like my real brother, my real family (ironically, he has the same birthday as my real brother). My new-found brother welcomed me into his family and made me feel included.  He warmed my heart by telling me he didn’t care for me because of what had happened to me, he cared for me, who I actually was and for the first time in my life I didn’t feel like the cover girl for RAPE.  He accepted me, all of me and made sure I knew I was not just an abused Woman. I was strong and courageous and brave.  I had had very little encouragement in my life and the little bit he gave me allowed me to rebuild my confidence and start to come out of my shell.  I started to spread my new tattooed wings and fly a little. I feel like a baby bird, just learning but hey at least I’m trying. Because of my new Brother I met some other people in his family and one older gentleman changed the way I looked at my whole life.  He had FTWBIFU tattooed on his fingers.  I inquisitively inquired like I always do.  I knew the FTW was “Fuck the World” but what were the other 4 letters.  He told me “Before It Fucks You.”  I thought well the World already fucked me so now I’m gonna go for another round and win this time.  He also told me one time when I was really feeling lonely and I said my biggest fear was being alone that
“when you are alone is when you learn how to get shit done”
    I started to think about my life and even though I had the boys I had always managed to get shit done.  Me, I had done it, alone.  My previous husband’s and the father of my oldest Son had certainly not helped me one bit.  They did not get my degree working full time.  They did not keep the roof over my kids’ head.  They did not have to deal with all the problems of being a street Mom. I had done it all. I had raised my boys (now 21 and 24) mostly alone (grandparents did help out a bit). I fed and kept track of all their friends and even though I placed myself in a self-imposed prison I accomplished it all.  I also broke free.  I broke free or spoke out every single time I was abused, and I realized I needed to start loving myself and acknowledging my successes instead of dwelling on every failure or mistake I made.
Every mistake I may think I have made is actually a blessing in disguise, because I have learned from it.  I have learned what my boundaries actually are, what I will accept, what I won’t and I have accepted that life won’t always be rainbows and lollipops but I am finally attracting the people in my life that I always wanted because I am finally being myself and it turns out there are some out there that actually like me for me.  A straight shooter, who will tell it how it is, love me or hate me, I guarantee I can make you laugh….

If you have experienced violence and/or abuse in any form please remember you are not alone and there are others who understand. 

Sometimes by embracing things we can reframe them in a different way. These are my thoughts and feelings from my heart that I share with you. Take from it what you so choose…

Why I would rather be broken than bent.

If if I were to be bent that would insinuate that somehow I was only one thing and that thing or object could be bent. A steel rod, a piece of wood, something that is straight and linear. When you bend and eventually bounce back. there is usually a point of weakness somewhere in the object. Unless it’s springy material.
At a low point in my life a very good friend told me that when you are broken you can take those pieces and put then back together anyway you want. I didn’t have to be a teapot or a cup, I could be a beautiful mantle piece or a plate (hypothetically)
By being broken, I can create cycles. I can rebuild myself in any way I so choose and I can leave behind the parts that no longer serve me. A broken piece of glass or mirror refracts beautiful light. What does something bent refract. I would rather be broken and shattered into a million pieces and rebuild myself self than bend and be somewhat conformable. I was made to begin each day anew, so from the broken pieces I reframe and rebuild to be better and stronger. When I am broken I can analyze which pieces don’t fit back into the existence that I am choosing to manifest. Which means that I can break myself at any moment take pieces away and rebuild as something better. Just like death brings rebirth, brokenness brings beauty. 🙏

-Dawn McIlmoyle

Renegade Lightworker

The Tale of Heaven and Hell

A long time ago, I think I may have been married to my second husband at the time, I was going through a “pre-awakening.” I was still asleep, but I was searching. Searching for something that I thought was bigger than me but eventually found it within myself. I had a strong sense of being different and not belonging. Conventional psychology/psychiatry in my hometown was not helping me grow. Religion had not held the answers I was searching for. My first husband was a Jehovah’s Witness and although it was not for me (apparently neither was he) I learned to look at theories and philosophies and see them from different perspectives. Big pictures.
I went to a past life regression therapist and had an enlightening session although I was still a little skeptical at the time. At the end of the session, he led me on a meditation to see if I had wings. I saw the most magnificent huge Rainbow wings radiating from my body. I could not wrap my head around that vision, but it left an impression and always stayed in the back of my mind. Big Beautiful Stunning Rainbow Wings.
I could not wrap my head around the vision because I was stuck in a negative mindset where I though I was forsaken, everything bad happened because of me and I was a failure that could not do anything right.
I could not look in a mirror without seeing everything that was wrong with me and all my flaws. I lived and breathed my sons, yet my own trauma kept me from being a real mother. I was more of a friend, and I wanted them to love me so badly I made many mistakes. I look back now and know that I did the best I could at the capacity I was able to.
Ever since I was young, I had a desire to serve humanity and a feeling I was different from the rest of my family. I wanted everyone around me to be happy. I felt all of their emotions and often felt like a peacemaker or peacekeeper. I smiled all the time because that is what “good little girls” are supposed to do.
My desire to serve humanity led me to join the Canadian Armed Forces where I dreamed of being a part of something bigger and making a difference.
It did not turn out the way I planned, and I ended up leaving the military with feelings of abandonment, betrayal, and rejection, thinking I had failed and that I was only good enough to be an object for men’s pleasure, it also left me with some amazing skills and abilities to be able to adapt and overcome any situation placed before me. I learned some ridiculously hard lessons through trauma that have allowed me to turn my knowledge into wisdom.
Going public with my story from the Military and my desire to make sure others did not feel alone got met with ostracism, disbelief, and lots of judgment. Assisting others with no framework or understanding of trauma and not realizing or comprehending the fact I could absorb the emotions of others led me to decide I needed to educate myself, research my own trauma and get a better understanding of how to assist others.
I took my 2 young Sons and met the Director of the new nursing program that was starting at Trent University and applied for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Other than wanting to help others I did not have a clue about what I was doing. I was in survival mode, and I wanted a better future for my sons. As much as I wanted to give up, those two kept me going.
There was something in my blood that kept me fighting. My dad tried to instill in my brother and I to be lovers not fighters, but I learned young I had to fight for his attention and love. His Father (my grandfather) had been a boxer and we learned young how to use our fists. I was competent, just not supported or encouraged. I had my grandfather’s boxing Spirit of no matter how many times you get knocked down, you get back up. Sometimes I have tripped and fell down myself and I know its important to get up, dust off and keep going. I also had to acknowledge self-sabotage and how my trauma was affecting all of my relationships.
So, after I literally knocked myself out one day (seriously, I threw a rocking chair, it bounced off the wall, hit me in the head and knocked me out; not sure if my head cracked it or the wall). I had to take a cold hard look at what I wanted and what I was willing to accept in my life. I was in the process of leaving my third husband who thought I was a white devil whore and had awakened me from my Sleeping Beauty-bubble state in more ways than one.
The reconnection to Mother Earth, nature and an introduction to Indigenous Studies provided me with a different perspective on life I was extremely grateful for. The knowledge from the strong, beautiful Women he had introduced me to was what guided me after the cell phone to the side of the head awakened me to the fact, I needed to break free, find myself and look deep within. I had to look in my toolbox and discard the tools that were no longer working for me (metaphorically I had a fisher price hammer and a couple Barbies in there) and get some new upgraded grown up tools.
Boundaries were what I needed, not to mention some self-worth, self-respect, self-value, and some confidence. I had been badly submitted, dominated, and conditioned by my family, my community, my teachers, leaders, and Society at large.
I had been told by my ex-husband and my brother that I could never survive on my own and I was silly enough to believe them at that time.
Everything changed the day I met a man that stood before me like a mirror and somehow radiated back to me (like a mirror) an image of myself that saw how all these previous failures could be reframed into accomplishments. It was like a light switch was turned on. I had been looking for a switch outside of myself in therapy, relationships, compassionate acts, love, and the switch had been inside of me all along. All the lessons in all the hurt and trauma were overwhelming and hard to process but I could see the light in the darkness finally. I was now on a quest to discover what I enjoyed and what I was capable of. The possibilities before me now were infinite and I was looking at the world through child-like eyes where everything was a blessing and opportunity. It was like I was seeing it all for the first time with new eyes.
Something kept taking me back to those rainbow wings. I wrote a lot about rainbows after my mother passed away, picturing her dancing under one.
In my first act of my own rebellion, I decided to get those rainbow wings tattooed on my back. I was going to go big or go home. I challenged myself, went way outside my comfort zone and moved to a city where I knew few people. My friend found me a tattoo artist that turned out to be a Wizard.
I told the Wizard my vision and we discussed the meaning of my wings. I told him they will represent everything I have overcome. Every feather would represent a trauma that taught me a lesson and gifted me with wisdom. I started my wings on my Granddaughter’s 6th birthday and spent 23 hours getting a priceless piece of art tattooed on my back. The process was finished the week of the 20th anniversary of going public about military sexual trauma (which had become a hot issue again 20 years later). The Wizard had provided me with and experience that left me feeling like I was really growing wings. They itched, they peeled, they hurt and sometimes were prickly.
The whole time the Wizard was doing his magic he told me he would also fix my cartoon Pinocchio ship on my lower back I had gotten may years before. Injury forced me to be patient and heal before I could return to cover my ship and I felt like I had just broken my wing I had just grown. The healing journey from my injury involved many lessons that were all for my own benefit and assisted my developmental growth. Later in the year I had a black mysterious ship with a lighthouse placed over my old tattoo. When I saw it finished, I saw my wings as heaven (Angelic and from above) and the ship as hell (darkness and below heaven). The ship was the vessel that would take you down the River Styx if you harmed me. I had dark and light, I had balance.
I sought out the past life regression therapist and went to see him again. It was a joyful day that brought much healing. There I did sessions with him and his beautiful wife and discovered what my rainbow wings meant. He told me I could communicate, with anyone, at any age, at any level and leave an impression, make a difference in their lives. It started to make sense. I always thought I never fit in anywhere. After this I realized I did not fit anywhere because I belonged everywhere. I realized the only person I needed to please, accept and love was myself. The external reward system of society would never lead me to confidence, respect, value or worth, these must all come from within.
My wings remind me to love myself, believe in myself, and to have faith in myself. They are my heaven. My ship is everything I have been through, the rough journey on the Sea of life yet as much as it represents HELL, the lighthouse reminds me to look to the light and reminds me of my wings.
I can go through hell, but heaven will always be with me too.
Balance……….

-Dawn McIlmoyle

-Renegade Lightworker

-August 2021

This is me and my brother Andy. His birthday is 8 days before mine and we are what is known as Irish twins. Born within a year of each other.
Now the reason I am posting this is because I see a serious flaw I would like to point out. My brother has his dukes up. He was taught that, to be a little fighter and believe me, him and I got into some pretty crazy battles so I learned quick. When we were young my Dad would put the boxing gloves on us and then we would fight. When I started to win it was game over. Couldn’t have the girl beating up the boy. Then Andy got taught he should be a lover not a fighter… Yah well this isn’t about him so we can stop right there.
I got to sit in the background as the girl and hear all these things but I was expected to put on the dress and act differently. It’s un-ladylike to want to fight, it’s not very girly-girl to act that way. So from the start there was a double standard I have had to fight. I have fought so hard to get where I am. I have fought to expose the truth, I have fought to find myself and I have fought for the rights of others to be treated fairly. I have fought for love, love that wasn’t even worth fighting for because fighting was what I knew. I had to fight myself to finally love myself. I am the black sheep of the family for doing what is right because it’s the right thing to do and it’s OK. I cannot fit into a World I was not meant to fit into.
I was taught to be passive, submissive, unasserting, non-resistant, docile. meek, non-aggressive and afraid while my brother got taught right from the start to be dominant and aggressive. Had I not had my Brother I would not have learned how to be a fighter. I also thought that as a girl watching Disney someone was going to rescue me but nope, had to do that myself as well.
I am learning that while I still need to stand up for myself, it is OK to not fight the battle, just let it go as well. Feel the pain, surrender to it and deal. It’s not pretty but the other side sure is…. The other side of the pain, when you realize how beautiful and worthwhile you are, what your value is and the only person you need to impress is yourself.

Rock Bottom

Same shit,
Different day
Living the dream
Chasing the dragon.
But one day 
You realize
It’s not your dream
You don’t even know who you are.
The mirror reflects
A stranger
Full of guilt and shame
For not knowing better
You realize
The dragon you have been chasing
Lives within and feeds on knowledge.
You hit the floor
Thinking of all the loss,
The pain,
The suffering.
Yours and all that you have caused.
You know there is a better way
You want change, yet
That change scares the fuck out of you
And you hit rock bottom
The place where all the walls
Have come crashing down.
All the barriers
All the things that didn’t work
All the lessons.
Look around at rock bottom.
Take the best memories out of those rocks,
Leave all the irrelevant shit
And Rebuild.
The way you choose
They way you always wanted
And be true to you
Be magnificent
Be the you, 
You wanted to be 
Before life got in the way.
It’s never to late to discover 
Who you truly are.

@renegadelightworker

The roots I have grown remind me of the blood blood red of a rose, full if beauty and tragedy.

The foundation I have built with beautiful Souls reminds me of the orange sky at sunset.

The joy I feel when gratitude overfills me reminds me of the yellow in a Micheal Angelo painting.

The love I have in my heart reminds me of a walk in the forest amongst the green leaves of the maples, oaks and poplars, not to mention the stunning evergreens.

The truth I speak reminds me of the water. It is blue like the Ocean reflecting the sky. It can be harsh and hurt or soft and gentle.

The knowledge I have gained in this lifetime reminds of the Indigo sky at Dawn or Twilight where the night sky is about to break out more stars than I can ever see.

The Wisdom I possess through trials and tribulations reminds me of a Crown, Sovereignty. Gold and violet. It is an obligation to use my suffering to assist others on their healing journey.

A journey to self enlightenment.

A journey of becoming themselves.

Renegade Lightworker

Let your light shine so others can see the way. Life is difficult enough.

Be positive and give someone a compliment. Remember that feeling you get when you make someone smile. Be gentle in your dominance. Sometimes people need to know what they are doing is wrong but you can tell them in a loving manner. I have always treated people the way I wanted to be treated. Until recently in my life I had not met many others that lived by this statement however, since I broke free and started climbing the stairs of life I have been staring at for a while things have been changing and I am starting to see what others have always seen.
I created my own darkness to protect myself and now want to shine as bright as I can so others will as well.
#letyourlightshine #RenegadeLightworker #OCG #leadbyexample #VeteransAssistingVeterans #VeteransAssistingCommunities
http://www.renegadelightworker.com

Renegade Lightworker

Throughout my recovery process many people have said some very important things to me that aided me in comprehending why I am the way I am. I take the knowledge I get from people and reformulate it into a way that I will understand. Because these are my interpretations of what I have received from others, it is my duty to share. This is the principle of reciprocity. Knowledge is the true power and it was meant to be shared. I hope that you can relate to some of my blogs and some of my quotes and find your inner light and begin to live life again. If you are already living life to your fullest may you share your light so others can begin to see again.

I know that life isn’t easy and sometimes we need to be reminded of who we really are. I am here to tell you that when you really let your light shine and be who you were meant to be you start to attract beautiful things in your life.

#RenegadeLightworker