Radical Acts of Self-Love

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Writing and painting are, for me, radical acts of self-love. It is my way of saying to myself, I see you. I hear you. I feel you. I honour you. And, I accept you in all your beautiful, flawed human ways.

And… because I want to celebrate all my beautiful, flawed human ways, I want my creative expressions be a reflection of all the delight and beauty, wonder and awe I see in the world around me, in its darkness and its light.

Some days, especially if I am spending too much time reading news reports and focusing on ‘the dark’ during these long nights of December where we wait for the light to return (here in the Northern Hemisphere), I risk feelings of apathy and helplessness overshadowing my heart’s desire for harmony and joy.

In those dark waters, I can forget all the Love and light in my life as I flounder on the edges of ‘the darkness’.

The darkness can be oh so beguiling.

But the darkness is not the place for me.

And so, I must consciously choose a radical act of self-love. And that’s where creativity, nature walks, dancing, meditating are so important. They are radical acts of self-love that create cracks in the darkness so the light can illuminate your path home to your heart.

Recently, as Covid news kept getting darker and even more restrictive social-distancing orders were coming into play to stop its spread, I felt myself leaning too far over the edge of darkness into that place where the light falls soundlessly away into an abyss of gloom.

I had to bring myself back into the light.

One of my favourite paths back to the light is through creative expression. In this case, creating ‘many somethings’ of a small nature. Somethings which, through both size and repetition, draws my thinking from my head deep down into my belly. To that place where the expansiveness of life flows freely in the deep, rich roots of my creativity.

The stars have a way of aligning when I need help seeing the light.

Last week, I received a letter telling me that I have been accepted to show at the Vale’s GreenHouse Cultivation of Art Show and Sale next June. I had been accepted this year but Covid dictated I not attend.

Being part of this show has long been on my bucket list so the news felt like a crack where the light could shine through. What a lovely blessing.

With art shows, I like to have something to give away. My favourite – bookmarks.

They’re small. Useful. And, when created with heart, can be beautiful.

Which made them perfect for my ‘get out of the darkness of your head thinking’ activity.

And it worked.

I spent a day painting bookmarks and found myself falling into the vastness of time free of worries of ‘what the future will bring’ or checking news reports in between surfing social media feeds.

In the liminal space of heartfelt creative expression, I found myself once again breathing joyfully into the depths of peace, tranquility and calm that reside at the core of my human nature. I found my way home to my heart.

The nights are long as our planet continues its orbit around the sun. And the news is grim around the world as Covid pushes deeper into the fabric of our lives.

Yet, even in the darkness, there is light. We only have to open our hearts and breathe deeply into the beauty of our human essence to see Love illuminating our path home to our hearts, no matter how dark the world around us or long and winding the road.

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Christmas is fast approaching and if you have been considering a #ShePersisted 2021 desk calendar as a gift, I only have a few left in stock.

Between now and Christmas, with every calendar purchased, I shall be including a hand-painted bookmark.

Calendars available on my DareBoldlyArt Etsy Shop

27 thoughts on “Radical Acts of Self-Love”

  2. LG,

    As I look at these remarkable works of your art – I see something else. I see the backs of cell phones. You know, those plastic covers we squeeze over our phones to protect them from damage when we drop them? I imagine a new variation on that theme – Phone Covers by Louise … I’d buy one. I’d buy another, and I’d tell two friends …

    I expect there are importers of these things (I think they are all made offshore) to make some with your art in them – you could sell them directly at a premium …

    I must go to work now.

    Cheers,

    Mark

    p.s. it is so nice to see you back to every-day posting …

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    • Thank you both for your inspiration and your words of support Mark! I hadn’t thought of cellphone covers for these little flowers — but I do like the idea!

      I shall go and see what I can create with them on Red Bubble. I’ll let you know.

      And thank you btw for your delightful voicemail for my birthday — though… harrumph re the 68th year. Hmmmm….. LOL — very clever! And you made me smile.

      Much love and gratitude.

      L

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  3. Louise, my wonder woman! What joy you bring to these tired eyes 🙂
    Are you really living in Alberta? I wondered a few times but since I don’t have your address, it was just guesswork. But I’d never have put you to Alberta.
    Thanks for your beautiful art and the sheer pleasure of reading, watching, viewing, discovering you.

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    • Ahhh Kiki – -you are so very kind — and funny! LOL re Alberta — it’s quite beautiful here. I moved from Toronto in the late 70s and fell in love with the big blue sky and wide-open spaces. Seeing as I’d only lived in Toronto for a couple of years after moving back from Europe where I’d lived for 15 years, it was quite a culture shock — but again, that big blue sky and wide-open spaces called to my heart. 🙂 I’m going to send you an email… watch for it! 🙂 ❤

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  5. Oh so nice to read and see the short days, aka very little natural light days, have spurned your creativity juices into high flow mode. June you say, will the COVID-19 grinch allow us to travel?

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  7. I love the bookmarks! The words leading into the flowers so cool! The colours and the designs. I think the idea above about phone covers is brilliant and it can actually be done off of a photo of artwork. I too am finding both the natural and the world darkness difficult this year – good idea to go spend more time up in my attic and create something! Take care and stay safe.

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    • Thank you Bernie — I do find that in my studio I ‘forget’ more and breathe deeper. I don’t even notice the darkness descending outside my window until my beloved calls me to come back to the real world for dinner. 🙂 ❤ And I'm checking out phone cases. 🙂

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  11. Creativity – of any kind – is carthasis. Gets stuff out of your head. And actually being able to look at something you wrote gives you such an amazing sense of accomplishment too. I love it!

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    • So true Tino. I always feel like I ‘lose’ myself in my studio when in truth, I find myself in the space created when, as you say, I ‘get stuff out of my head’.
      Thank you for adding your light to the conversation! And yes! I love it too! Much gratitude. ❤

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