The Ripening Series Part II: Ask the Experts
BY EMMA GEARY - AUGUST 26, 2024
Welcome to The Ripening Series, a collection of blog posts where we explore what it means to come into your own, reaching a perfectly ripe state of self. All month long, we're talking about honing your perspective creatively, professionally, and personally, and what it takes to truly bring it to life. Whether you're looking to expand your creative passions into a business or an entrepreneur considering a big shift, it’s time to grow into your own.
Get caught up and read our first post on sparking creativity and developing the confidence to shift.
Madeline Johnson of Heart Space
Today, we’re consulting the experts (and fellow Collective Members!) on how to bring this state of change to life. First, we caught up with Madeline Johnson of Heart Space, an art studio that focuses on the process of art making rather than the product. Madeline is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a certification in Art Therapy, which guides her studio events with mindful intention. To learn more about open studio hours, click here.
“For anyone interested in learning about themselves and developing their self-confidence, my number one recommendation would be to do something creative. Creativity is kind of a buzzword at the moment, and often people immediately think creativity means the act of making art or drawing, or something of that sort. While that is something worthwhile, it's not necessarily what I mean. To engage your creativity means that you are doing something original, new, imaginative, and maybe outside your comfort zone. Doing something new or outside our comfort zone helps us gain the confidence to step out and follow a passion or act on our dreams. In that uncomfy space, we learn the most about ourselves, our needs, our desires and ultimately our strengths.
Image via Heart Space
As humans, we are comfortable in our routines, yet, those repetitive patterns do not seed growth. So, to anyone looking to learn ways to develop confidence or explore themselves as a person, I would recommend the most simple thing: Do something new.
This could mean anything from driving a new route home (seeing new sights), starting a habit of morning journaling (pencil-to-paper kind of journaling), making a new recipe (maybe one that challenges you), trying a new workout class (practice not being the expert) or making art (perhaps something messy).
A creative act can be exciting and nerve-wracking depending on how much you challenge yourself. You may be faced with those limiting beliefs that block you. And, if you are, this creative act could be just the thing to nourish you enough to step into your calling.”
Next, we took to the stars and consulted Ms. Anna Lee, a Human Design expert who takes a more holistic approach, exploring how our alignment toward the right path has everything to do with the rhythms of nature.
“There’s something absolutely gorgeous about aging. Our wisdom comes into focus, and the patterns and cycles of our lives begin to unfold as a beautiful tapestry of interests and expressions, wins and losses. Our bodies soften and become more our own as we care less about what others think. I SWEAR the moment I turned 40 I got my first taste of this, and it has only increased, despite (or due to!) perimenopause.
While society’s default is to make women feel “invisible” as they age, I have always loved to find my way of navigating cultural norms to get to the heart of the matter. It turns out we are just playing by different rules. So why not make them or decide the ones we want to follow?
But where to begin? Well, I start with a rhythm so far from the patriarchy that we may easily take it for granted: the rhythms of nature. The cycles of the moon. Aligning to our circadian rhythms. It can be a challenge to do this as our world is framed to ignore these rhythms and belittle them.
Image via Ms. Anna Lee
From there, it is important to know ourselves. What makes us tick? Inspires us? Demotivates us? It is different for each person, even if we find universal truths within the patterns. For me, Human Design has been a remarkable tool for self-discovery and permission to be myself.
When we take a non-dogmatic approach to it, we can unearth the things that make us unique, which helps us understand the responsibilities we have to the collective. We may be holding ourselves back because there is something off in what we are trying to do, and how we are supposed to do it.
For instance, I had a pattern of throwing myself into projects head first, trying to be everything I thought I was supposed to be, only to end up kinda burned out and resentful at times. Now that I understand my need for pacing, as well as being part of something instead of trying to own it all, I have so much more ease and confidence in the things I get involved with.
In the past, we may have downplayed our need for each other or been let down by our communities, and so we pride ourselves on being fiercely independent. Instead, let’s take that independence to create a network of inspired folks willing to stray from dominant cultural norms to collectively find a space that works for the greater good.”
Later this week, we welcome a guest writer sharing how her creativity took on a unique new form in what started as a way to escape the daily grind. Stay tuned!
