from these hands...

At the beginning of this year, my word was Magical.

I thought I was searching for moments of enchantment.

Instead, I found something much quieter.

Trust.

Not trust as an idea.
Trust as a lived experience.

Trust in Sean's steadfastness.

Trust in my body.

Trust in my art.

Trust in my own voice.

Trust in silence.

Trust in my readers.

Trust in uncertainty.

Trust in wonder.

Trust in myself.

And perhaps most importantly...

Trust that life knows where it is going.

I no longer feel the need to force meaning, certainty, or outcomes.

I can leave a chair open.

I can listen for the next note.

I can let the wind change.

I can lay down the crown.

I can walk beside my own life instead of trying to direct it.

From that trust, everything else has begun to blossom.

Not because I made it happen.

Because I finally became a safe place to live.

Magical was the invitation.

Trust was the arrival.

If you would like to read more about my thoughts,
I welcome you to This Meaningful Life.

New reflections are posted every Sunday.

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I find that creating a series gives the idea space.

Space to be individual while still in coherence with the others.

As I created Corazón, the Heart, I felt she spoke differently, in that the word itself is rooted in courage.

This series of Madonnas took courage for me to create and to connect with a heritage that my mother shunned. It became a way to heal her generational past shame and the distance she carried from it.

For myself, it was a theme of heritage that I have held close within but never been able to explore without being shut out. It was to bring out the beauty of these pieces and share them with all of you.

First was La Luz- the light, which gave lift to this series with the wings of the Moth. The moth is attracted to the light. And to step into the next part of this series was The Rose Madonna, La Alegría, to embody joy in all its forms—gratitude in pink roses, and friendship in yellow.

La Luz LINK

La Alegría LINK

This Madonna Corazón feels to be the completion of this series. She can speak freely from her heart. She carries the light and the joy of the two before her.

This holds true in my own life. Art has a way of revealing the answers we have quietly carried within us. Maybe that is how the soul connects to the body—it is in that knowing.