Resilience does not appear out of thin air.

It is earned.

Through trial and tribulation.

We can’t develop a capacity for failure without having failed a little bit.

We don’t suddenly find the urge to take a big risk without having taken smaller risks before.

Opportunities only appear as such when we have exercised our ability to see the silver lining in tough situations.

But also recognize when your resilience shields you from getting angry about something because you see the situation as normal.

When it prevents you from fighting for what you deserve because you have weathered dismissal so many times you are jaded by the possibility.

Resilience without breaking through it means you are tolerating life. Breaking through resilience means you are really living it.

Modern motherhood is child-centric, society-centric, husband-centric but not mother-centric.

It is not expected or encouraged for mothers to be the center of their motherhood experience.

We lose our identity and never receive the support to re-create it.

Mothers are the casualty of motherhood.

How do we re-create that lost identity?

Through recreation – doing the things that we love. Finding ourselves through joy. Taking the time to be present with ourselves.

Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

We do not have to be casualties of the very life we want to live. Create to re-create. Find joy again. Find yourself again.

Art is a meditation that brings out the parts of us calling to be seen, heard, felt, and realized.

With art, we can simultaneously DO and BE. Creating allows us to feel present and future at the same time.

If everyday feels like Groundhog Day…

…or like there are more failures than successes…

…or like you are endlessly giving with little appreciation…

…or like there is less hope and love in the world than before…

…the answer is (almost) always art.

I hope you dance. Write. Strum. Draw. Sing. Paint. Design. Teach. Hike. Play. Sculpt. Or whatever your artistic medium of expression is.

We think that once that BIG idea comes to us, we will have made it. The one thing that will end all the things.

However, a big idea doesn’t just appear out of the ether.

Manifesting that big idea is like manifesting that perfect adult child who respects us, follows their heart and does good in the world. Oh, the dream!

But the dream does not come without the time and patience in raising a little person.

Don’t get frustrated that your big idea is little right now – raise it with care and love and you’ll be on your way.