The inspirational journey of Lara Flanagan: sharing positivity with the world

Whether it's her photography and inspirational prints, or her poetry and storytelling, Lara wants to share positivity with everyone and anyone she can.

She grew up on the Gold Coast, but has since travelled the world as a "bit of a nomad" living in the UK and Japan for a number of years, before returning to her home town.

But it was one weekend 12-years-ago that Lara, who was newly separated, visited Tenterfield for the first time.

"It was like I'd been touched by the fairies is the only thing I can equate it to, because I fell in love with Tenterfield," Lara said. "Six weeks later, the kids and I moved to Tenterfield."

She said she didn't know much about the town or region at the time and had no desire to live in the country, but it was something about Tenterfield that captured her heart.

"I thought it was the most beautiful place to bring up my two kids and also there were opportunities here for me to live very well, like I could afford to buy a little house when I would never have been able to do that on my own on the Gold Coast," Lara said.

"Also Tenterfield's a very beautiful little community, that is very welcoming of newcomers. It's embraced me for all my quirks and has always been wonderful to myself and my family.

"I couldn't contemplate living anywhere else. So I would like to call myself a 'Tenterfieldian', but I'm not sure how long you have to be here to be a local."

Since moving to the region, Lara has faced some difficulties in her life, which she said led to her want to share as much positivity as she could.

"In early 2013 I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and I was not given a very good prognosis," she said.

"Twelve months after I was diagnosed, I wasn't coping well with the physical challenges and I also had shocking medication ... and basically, my neurologist told me that I would just heading straight for a wheelchair, and to prepare for disability.

"Then the next big challenge in my life was what happened in 2017, when my sister and dearest friend passed away and completely, once again, my life was turned upside down."

Lara said everything in her life had been shaped by her children, a wake up call in the form of a very scary diagnosis, and the heartbreak of her sister's death.

"It has completely changed the way I live in that I live very simply, I don't think you need material possessions," she said.

"And I think my calling for the fear of sounding a bit up with the fairies ... is that if I can add beauty, hope, joy and inspiration to the world and change my life and anyone else's ... that would probably be one of my biggest values."

This is why Lara's work focuses on the beauty and happiness she sees in the world.

"So everything is driven by celebrating people, celebrating the place we live in, celebrating the beauty of this world," she said.

"I know we live in a scary place and world at the moment, but I focus on the beauty I see even if it's the smile of someone's face, I love people's faces, I love their stories, I think everyone has a beautiful story to tell and I love the landscape.

"So it's all about simply adding in a positive way, beauty, hope, joy and inspiration, and that is my purpose in life.

"It's what keeps me going on the bad days and what kept me going through the bad days, and it fills my heart with joy."