Women we admire: Elizabeth Thomas

Each month we will be diving deeper into the women who inspire us. Behind the beautiful photographs of Svanur are women in our community who embody beauty in all ways..... 

So now I share with you, Elizabeth Thomas.

She has personally captivated me with her magic, her spirit and her dedication to our natural world. I asked Elizabeth to share with me a few things she loved about herself, and her answers were precisely what I needed to hear. Women empowering themselves, empowers us all.....

Elizabeth floats into the space around you, but so very is grounded. A complete pillar of wholeness. She sort of takes your breath away but makes you feel so connected all at once.  A delicate and powerful force of nature, Elizabeth gives off the energy she has been here before and she is doing it right. 

Elizabeth has had a deep passion for the earth since she was a small girl. Growing up between the mysticism of the swampy everglades and over developed suburbs of Florida, her heart called out to preserving the natural balance + beauty around us all.  Drawing inspirations from the forests of upstate New York, Elizabeth is a kindred spirit. As a child she would make mud infused plant medicines to tuck away into secret hideaways, she would hold space with the crickets on a late August evening as she visited their summer home, she felt time stand still as she would return each year. Nature could unfurl without change. 

Utilizing her passion for protection of the natural world, Elizabeth has used her talents to better our local ecosystem with sustainable farming of edible plants. Sharing her offerings with local restaurants and vendors, assisting with dream spaces along side Fern Croft Florists + working as a horticulturist at the Buffalo botanical gardens. She is a warrior of the source that keeps us all connected beyond our bodies. 

What makes Elizabeth feel empowered is her sense of self, her confidence and power to be her own "gatekeeper". She is able to waltz between ideologies, experimentation + passion unapologetically. Self love on the deepest level. She shares with me about a "sweet spot" of awareness, where she  is her own rock, her own salvation. THIS is what empowerment is all about my heart whispers. Saving ourselves, becoming so deeply in love with who we are in all ways, we need not seek that approval from the outside realm.

Finding who we are, discovering our personal power. The gifts we present by simply being ourselves. Elizabeth embodies womanhood, whole and true. With unwavering confidence and a gentle ease. 

She ends with words about herself that make me smile softly, 

"I like giving gifts and making people feel appreciated and empowered. I also like listening to others, and since I'm a huge weirdo with an unconventional moral compass, I never judge... and am really good at keeping secrets, even the juicy ones!"

Perhaps after you read this, make a list about yourself. What do you LOVE about who you are? What makes you energized like nothing else? What gifts have you held since before the world shaped you? Speak these love notes out loud, every day, every time you forget how delightfully powerful you are by simply being yourself. 

All photographs by Ginny Rose Stewart.