Waiting on the Renaissance

I haven’t made a blog post in what feels like forever! After several seasons of global and communal pain, I finally felt a lift in my spirit nearing the end of Summer 2021, and I am ready to start creating and sharing those creative projects again. As the season turns into Fall and healing takes place on global, communal, and personal levels, I welcome moving forward (even if in small steps) with open arms.

Photos by Andrew Hughes

During the earlier stages of the pandemic, I would overthink my creative outlets to the point of not sharing them—and honestly felt void of the ability to create much of anything anymore. An unhealthy former workplace and relationships which needed healing drained any energy I had left. But as we heal, we must remind others and ourselves that we all deserve to make tangible every shard of creative/emotional/passionate mess that scatters across our minds. We all need an outlet to create in some way or another—even people who don’t consider themself “creative.” (But trust me you are!) Cooking a new recipe, reorganizing your living space, enhancing your vehicle—all require a sense of creativity. We must foster constant creativity to sustain motivation, especially after such a difficult period of time.

 It was easy to feel discouraged or unmotivated during an era of global uncertainty and stress. Collectively, it was as if we were all “waiting on the Renaissance.” In my own corner of the world, a feeling of disconnection and lack of support overwhelmed me. During this time, my mind ran on a loop of hurtful criticisms and judgements from former and current people in my life. It took a majority of the summer to shed recent criticisms. Although this past summer was a difficult transitional period to endure, I treasure the opportunity to believe in myself and my talents even if the belief is solely my own. I treasure challenging the misconceptions or dated versions of myself that live in the minds of people who are a stranger to the woman I have grown into. I treasure this time nearing the end of 2021 to focus on nurturing my mental and physical and spiritual health. I treasure protecting my energy and attempt to work towards “moving silently.” People—even those closest to us, often especially those closest to us—can be so quick to judge instead of pouring into us and our dreams. Furthermore, what was harder for me to realize, is there comes a point where we must re-evaluate how much we pour into others. It is not selfish to reallocate your support back to yourself. It is not arrogant to share the creations you find beauty in as your creations are what you have to offer the world to say, “I am here.” It is not a lonely state of life to protect those creations, even if you value collaborating or fostering ideas with other minds. It is sometimes best to keep your projects close to your heart, parts of yourself, until they are finished, because not everyone will believe in a fragile beginning (and not everyone will support your growth.)

From meeting new people to developing projects to upcoming life changes, I welcomed in new energy and opportunities over the past few weeks, and I look forward to welcoming in more. Expect more regular updates and sharing from me here on the blog and everywhere else you can reach me! Thank you for connecting with me and remember:

You deserve more love.