A Celebration of Women™

 

is elated to Celebrate the Life of this yet another inspirational Woman.

This inspiration of a woman meadered in, out and around her ‘Dream’; but, never gave up completely. Through her perseverence and loyalty to self, her dream eventually manifested. At her lowest moment in life, she was graced with a Spiritual Experience that inspired and motivated her to get immediately back onto her own Path of Destiny. It is an honor to have her here, and a pleasure to share with the Women of our World, her Story ‘in her own words” without even a comma changed.

This Artist, published author, is a true Power of Example to any and all Women that have a ‘knowing‘ in their soul of their own Destiny; yet, life itself is derailing you, obstructing you to a point where the actual ability to feel Joy is drained out of you.

….the true inspiration that she is, we would say her message is:

 

Where there is a Will; there is a Way!

 

 

WOMAN of ACTION™

 

 

Jolita Kelias

 

If you understand my words, then, don’t miss this Life Story!

 

The Chosen Path

It has been a long journey…

I remember I was three years old, I was holding a book in my little hands and trying to understand what all those letters meant. There were far too many of them for a three year old to comprehend. Suddenly I spoke to my mother who was sitting on my right side, “How do you know what every letter means? How do you know how to read?”

She smiled at me and answered, “Firstly, you are holding your book upside-down,” and then continued, “Once you attend school, you will learn how to read and write as well.” I seemed a bit puzzled, “But there are so many symbols to understand, it will take me a very long time.” She smiled again. Then I asked her to read a couple of sentences for me. She read; all were written in Russian, so she had to translate it in order for me to understand. I listened intently.

 

“Believe deep down in your heart that you’re destined to do great things.” ~Joe Paterno

 

The world of books seemed a very attractive thing to me, I liked the idea of being able to express thoughts and feelings in writing. Then, I remember, I looked at the book I was holding in my little hands, flipped through a few pages and firmly said, “I will be a writer one day and many people will read my books too.” And so there my journey to the world of literature has begun…

 

 

I was born and raised in a small country in the Baltic States – Lithuania. I am Lithuanian by origin, even though nowadays I live, work and pursue my lifetime dream in London, United Kingdom. I grew up in a financially poor family, where my mother as a single mother tried to support my sister and me the best way she could and knew how. We had very little material goodness, but we appreciated every bit of it.  There were days we had nothing to eat or no proper clothes to wear, and even then we never felt discouraged to do good, to dream big, to make our dreams come true and to excel in the things that most mattered to us. 

 

 

I was not the best student at school, but I did excel in creative writing and literature. No one in my class could beat me on this. It all – reading, writing, came effortlessly to me. I wrote short stories, poems, read all kind of books ranging from fairytales to philosophical material. I also for the last three years of my secondary education intensely participated in my school and town’s life, where I volunteered to do journalism: writing articles, doing interviews, participating in various events and making sure that the message had been spread wide and loud. I excelled at this too. That’s then I truly understood what it meant to love doing something, where all you cared for was the journey itself.

Regardless what praises I received or how much attention I got from the public, I took it normally and did not make a big fuss about it. I was especially happy to interview people who in one way or another made a positive difference in the world of others and who cared for other people. At that time one of my interviews ‘target’ used to be Teachers. I had a great respect for them and wanted to acknowledge their hard work and efforts that they put for their pupils and community itself.

 

 

“When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him, you will see yourself. As you treat him, you will treat yourself. As you think of him, you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself.” ~A Course in Miracles

For some reason, I was always interested in helping other people, acknowledging their good efforts, their kindness, and I never cared what the status that person held. Everyone was unique and important to me.

After I completed 12 year program of Secondary education, I decided to pursue a career in journalism. I was just 18 years old by then. I enrolled at university, submitted my application, attended all the needed exams hoping to receive a grant from government, and I did succeed in my exams, but it was not enough to get a grant. I needed to pay for my studies and I had no money. I felt that my dream career fell down the hill then and there.

 

 

“I love walking in the rain, because then no body knows I am crying.” ~Charlie Caplin

Then, I studied something different, which was also very close to my heart but not as much as writing. During those three years of studies I forgot to exercise my hand at writing. I stopped writing. For some reason I felt I could not go on without having a degree in journalism or literature. I felt I was not good enough or trained enough to be a writer as I wished to be. I lost my confidence, I forgot my dream and began envisioning a different life for myself. However, deep from within various thoughts, ideas kept emerging from time to time, but even then taken by strong inspiration I miserably failed to write them down. I chose to bury my head in the sand of denial instead.

Luckily, I had a good friend of mine twenty years my senior, who used to be my music teacher at the secondary school and who through her rare letters and calls kept reminding me about my dream to become a writer. She kept telling me, “Jolita, you must write a book. You are so talented, don’t abandon your dream.” I must say I found it hard not to listen to her, but even harder to pick up the pen and pour my thoughts down on the piece of paper.
 

 

While studying I decided that I had to pursue one more dream of mine – I dreamt of travelling around the world. Of course, I had no money for that and no idea how that was going to happen, but I kept dreaming and in the meantime enjoying my student years full of various activities. I completed my three years of studies (I studied tourism and hotel administration management) and pretty much out of money, out of place, out of ideas what to do with my life next, I decided to take an action. I decided to go abroad to work as an au-pair and that way to learn English, to widen up my view on life and to travel to other countries as much as it was possible.

 

 

So six months after completing my HND I went to Netherlands, where I stayed for a couple of months. During that time I spent every penny that I earned on travelling around the country and neighbouring countries. I had little of material goodness, I earned very little, but even then all my focus was not on settling down but on travelling. The more I travelled, the more I felt eager to see, to learn, to feel, to experience, to expand in my knowledge and awareness …

Once again more and more creative thoughts began re-emerging from within me awakened by my travelling experiences and more and more I felt guilty for denying an opportunity to the inspiration to take its form. I kept excusing myself from listening to my heart; I kept refusing myself a right to grow in my talent. I questioned my abilities sternly and unforgivably.

However, no matter how much I doubted my talent and skills to write, somewhere deep inside my heart I knew I will take the path that I have chosen many years ago. I did not know how, where and when, but I knew it was going to happen, because it could not be otherwise.

 

 

So I spent a year as a wanderer blissfully wondering from country to country around Europe, from place to place, from one amazing experience to the other – my life was on the constant move. But then came a time when I felt the urge to settle down. I yet did not know where and when it was going to happen, but the need for it began nudging me.

In November 2004, I landed in London, United Kingdom. It was my second time in UK that year. I planned to stay until just after Christmas and then before New Year to travel to Switzerland; I even had a one way ticket booked in advance.

Now, whenever I think back about my plans, I remember words I heard once
 “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him about your plans”. 

However, Life had better ideas for me – I stayed in London, I settled down.  A new phase in my life has begun…

 

 

During my new phase in Life I felt even more blissful and inspired to create, to write, I could not shut my mind – thoughts were flowing like rivers, heart was beating faster, guilt became stronger and soul demanded its fair share, but yet I chose not to listen. I looked for excuses to put my writing ambitions off, and fear and lack of self-esteem sheltered me generously under their wings.

 

 

One day, after a couple of years of pursuing a professional career in various jobs, I suddenly felt like an empty shell – I felt I had nothing to give, nothing to offer, I saw no purpose in Life. I began questioning Life itself. Creative ideas and thoughts discontinued flowing, heart stopped being excited, soul quietened and guilt disappeared as well. I felt lost. I tried praying, but even prayers did not evoke my former blissfulness. That’s when I knew the time had come for a drastic change to take its place, but…I did not know where and how to begin that change.

Soon after that, in the beginning of July 2007, I went to a bookshop;  I desperately needed to buy a book. I did not know what book I was going to buy, but I knew I was not going to leave the shop until I found something that could stir my soul. I went straight for the inspirational section, I looked through various books, I touched them, I flipped through their pages, and yet nothing felt right. I was crying from within in desperation. Then, I remember, I closed my eyes, stretched my hand to the right side and decided to pick the book that my fingers touched first.

 

 

The title of the book my fingers touched first was ‘Conversations with God’ written by Neale Donald Walsch. I stared at it for a few seconds and finally looked inside. From the moment I opened its pages, I could not put it down. It stirred my soul from within with the power never known to me before. In that very instant I changed, I woke up, I lit up and felt alive once more.

Straight after that I lost interest in my job, in people I knew. I became consumed with my inner world, where the outer world vanished from my view. I introduced meditation into my daily routine, which brought peace and silence in my busy living.

 

“All was so new and exciting to me. I felt free.” Jolita Kelias

 
 

Then, shortly after that, my thoughts began drifting towards writing again, the urge awakened within me with such a strength, which I could not and was not willing to ignore any longer. I decided to give it a try…and yet I hesitated for a bit, but this time an excuse was whether I should write in Lithuanian or English. Since leaving Lithuania, I thought, spoke, read, wrote and even dreamt mostly in English. That was a dilemma for me for quite some time.

Three months after emerging from an empty shell I decided to resign from my job and give writing a chance. Of course, many people around me thought I was taking a great risk and being unreasonable in abandoning a steady job for something uncertain as a writing career. Many tried to convince me that I could write while I was working, but from within I knew I needed time out, I needed time for myself. This time I was unwilling to compromise whatsoever. Then, when their efforts went in vain, they tried to convince me that there will be no one to read my books, because only the chosen ones could make a life and a living out of writing.

 

Even one of my family members one evening bitterly said to me,

“You are not J. K. Rowling, Jolita. You are nobody.”
 

 

Then I turned to him and said,

“At one point in her life she was nobody too, but now she is somebody.

I am Jolita Kelias and I shall be Jolita Kelias.”

 

‘I chose not to listen to the echoes of other people voices and followed my inspiration anyway.’

 

One day before Christmas on the same year I left my job and began a new chapter in my life. I became a writer…and yet from that day I did not write a word for at least five months, until one day I had a visionary dream, which urged me to begin writing. A few days later, in June 2008, I finally sat down and committed to write a book in English in one month. I put myself on the strict schedule and I wrote. I did not dare to stop even for a moment. I was absolutely consumed by my newly found freedom – Muse finally descended upon me.

My first book ‘The Power of Gratitude’ I completed as I intended within a month. I call this book my Therapy Awakening. I found a publisher straight after that and in April 2009 in subsiding publishing I published it in a limited edition. It was one of the happiest moments in my life. At last I overcame doubt that tormented me for so long and proved myself that I can do it. Truly, I am telling you, this was enough for me to know I can do it and now nothing and no one could tell me otherwise.

 

Now I KNOW – I Am a Writer.

 

Of course, now that I look back at my first book, I see there are many things that need to be edited, maybe removed or added, but even then I will never forget the time and effort and journey it took for it to be finally born through me.

Four months later, after the publication of my first book, in early September 2009 during a sleepless night a bolt of joy and bliss unexpectedly overcame me to an extent that I could not fall asleep for the rest of the night – the idea about this book crossed my mind. My inner child woke up and filled me with the joy that cannot be explained but only felt. I became inspired to create a book on the subject of dreams realised. When I say dreams, I mean dreams as wishes/ aspirations/ personal goals.

 

The idea that crossed my mind concentrated on collecting various stories about dreams realized. I understood that stories should come from regular people from various places in the world. The purpose was to restore hope and faith in people’s hearts and minds, who for the reasons known only to them stopped believing or have never even considered the possibility of dreams coming true. To be able to realize a dream is a true miracle in itself and miracles most often do tend to happen to the ones that believe and follow their dreams. So I set myself on the journey made of many different challenges to bring inspiration and insight to others through the stories of people around the world.

 

 

Especially for that I have created a fan page on Facebook titled DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE. It helped me to connect to various people worldwide. A number of them eagerly volunteered to share their most personal and incredibly inspiring stories with me and their future readers. These stories touch your heart to its core; they are soulful, true, inspirational, and carry the message of one of the most priceless things in this life, which is Hope. I have read those stories many times by now and still I get inspired and moved every single time.

 

I have completed working on my second book in the end of April 2010 and started intensely looking for a literary agent or traditional publisher. I titled my book ‘When Dreams Come True’. I did all I could to get a publisher, but it was a true struggle against the current, so after 2 years of looking, I turned my tables around and decided to begin publishing those stories on my Blog instead. I wanted the world to read those stories, I wanted it to become public, so I found an alternative way. I am still hoping to publish it as a book and I will, but I also believe that sometimes we must be determined and patient and have faith at the same time. Everything has its own time…

 

 

I don’t take rejection personally, it does not put me down, even though it does waste my time, but it will never stop me from achieving my goals and reaching for my chosen star.

 

In the meantime, writing books and short stories, poetry.  I also do some journalism… Apparently I don’t need to have a degree for that  How silly I was then, when I thought that degree in journalism or literature was the only door for me, how much time wasted, how much time given to doubt and fear!

Anyway, a lesson had been learned and now I am living my life as intended – I create, I work with people and for people. I allow my Light to shine.

 

During my spare time, I give my time and knowledge and efforts to spread the message around about certain people or groups or organisations, who make a positive difference in the world of others starting from themselves first. I invite them to have an interview with me and after that I publish it on my Blog and my fan page on Facebook, which are visited by thousands of readers daily and the number is growing. I do my work simply out of sincere interest for that person or people to grow and succeed.

 

 

One more Light lit – one more Success achieved 

 

I chose to share these small autobiographical pieces of my life with you, so just to show you what and how my journey to writing has been shaped to this day. As you see, it took its time and yet I am somewhere at the beginner’s level. I think every creator or writer never really overcomes the idea of knowing something fully, and so they keep learning, growing and hoping that one day they might move to the next level….level of… Level of what? I am not sure if that something exists at all. I will tell you once I find out.

 

 

FIND HER HERE: JolitaKelias.com
 

Jolita Kelias

 
London, United Kingdom

My Fan page DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE on Facebook:

 
FACEBOOK – DREAMS THAT CAME TRUE
 

 

 
 
 

A Celebration of Women

 

sends our Love and Gratitude for this wonderful spirit, strong in Faith and determined in Soul.

 

 

Brava Jolita!