Hello friends, Happy Tuesday on this 756th day of January.
Thank you to the many of you who sent me a note about last week’s studio files and your own experiences with anxiety. I am beyond grateful for your messages and thoughts, and humbled to know that my words touched you in some way.
It so good to be reminded how healing and beneficial it is to be in community and conversation with one another.
We need more of that today, as ever.
In the space since November 5, 2024, I’ve been sitting somewhere between grief, disbelief and anxiety. Shocked that we would return a man to power who has shown time and again just how far he is willing to go to win. Not win for our country, for our people, for us, but win for himself, his bank account, his personal interests. A man who has shown us who he truly is, over and over, how ruthless, selfish, unethical, immoral and vindictive he is, is now the leader of our country. Bringing with him a whole new guard of leadership ready to enact his agenda. This time around, more emboldened and enraged, powerful and unhinged, with less resistance and guardrails than in 2016, I know I’m not alone in feeling fear, apprehension and sadness over what’s to come.
My aim with Studio Files is to always stay true to my purpose of sharing light, joy and beauty, even and especially when the reality of the news and political cycles seem anything but.
And today, one day after the inauguration that I avoided, feels like a day that we all need to find our center, the light, the joy so we can become the caretakers, the activists, the change-makers so many of us need.
As I mentioned last week, I’m still looking for the helpers and upping my self-care to ground and calm myself.
One of my favorite places I find to calm myself amidst this anxious news cycle is my studio. For the past few years, I've flitted from painting class to class, medium to medium, following my curiosity wherever it might lead. This has helped to develop a healthy creative practice, journals and small works full of color and joy, and something I highly encourage if you’re looking to start a creative habit. I’ve written about my own creative journey again and again, and recommend you start with my 5 best tips for starting a creative habit if you’re looking to start your own. Having a consistent creative practice is so beneficial for our mental and physical health, something we all need to be guarding and protecting fiercely in the days, months, years ahead. If you’ve been looking for an invitation, or excuse, or permission to start a new creative journey, this is it. I’d love to hear what you get into, what messes you make, how I can support you along the way.
I actively avoided watching or reading any news coverage of the inauguration yesterday. A bit of self-preservation, preferring to spend my day engaged with my family, relaxing and doing a service project to honor Martin Luther King’s legacy of help. I did turn to a few of my favorite informed voices for their thoughts around the inauguration and am linking to those below.
The Ink and the inauguration of us all. A stark, blunt, honest assessment of where we are.
Dan Harris sharing how Buddha would handle the inauguration, bookmarked for days when I need a reminder.
Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, and continued writer, activist, inspirer. Loved her chat with Emily Amick, former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, yesterday. Vacillating between optimism and truth bombs, I look to their voices for how to best show up in the long-haul.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
For me, I needed to watch to see for myself the nuances, the looks, the feel, all of it…I read all that I can, but I felt a responsibility to get through it myself. Just something I needed to do for me, with no judgement or reflection on how others chose to partake or not…I now know specifically those areas that I need to spend my energy and efforts on in the coming days…I won’t be surprised by the news or journalist’s rhetoric, I am forming my plan to handle my fears and do what I personally can to address my fears and mental health as we move forward…do you know what I mean? Thank you so much for sharing and for providing this safe environment for exchanges and support!
I couldn’t stay in my bubble yesterday and it hurt. I still don’t have words but I’m grateful to read yours and know I’m not alone ♥️