The day I was born, like probably everyone reading this, I was given a name shared by ancestors who came before me. As I shapeshifted and formed my identity as an artist, I chose to go by a different surname publicly - one that connects me to family I feel attuned with, the Cadys - while keeping my given name for me and those closest to me. It feels empowering to have agency over different parts of myself and my life and my history through the medium of my name. I’ve grown so connected with being a Cady, especially in the past few years, that I find myself sometimes overlooking the other part of me, my given name - at least up until a couple of weeks ago.
It started with my life recently twisting upside down and inside out in ways I couldn’t have imagined, feeling unsteady and lost in some dark days. In the midst of a particularly gloomy moment a couple of weeks ago, when I felt like I couldn’t unfurl myself from the nest of my home, a friend told me to go outside and look for the desert wildflowers that begin to bloom this time of year. I begrudgingly slipped on my shoes and clipped my dog’s leash to his collar, making our way to a nearby trail. Zach was right - the wildflowers were there - colorful little blossoms of hope spotting the edges of the trail. My spirits lifted and every weekend since I’ve gone looking for more bursts of desert color. I keep climbing mountains to find flowers that pull me out of darkness and into the light - flowers on a mountain, bright beams of hope.
In the language of my ancestors, flower on a mountain translates to blum berg - Blumberg. My given name means flower on a mountain, I realized. I am the flower on the mountain. It’s always been me. I am my own hope and empowerment and light. It’s been in me all along, I just needed a little nudge so I could unbury it for myself.
Sometimes curious people ask me whether I see true transformation with my therapy clients. What they want to know is if people can actually change. Absolutely, I tell them without pause. I genuinely believe people have the power to learn and unlearn and heal and grow and create beautiful lives from ashes. I witness it happen all the time.
The key is that it all comes from within, it can’t be half-assed. I am there for my clients as guide and teacher and mirror, a safe space to process and heal and show up for themselves, but I do not claim to do the healing - they do that themselves.
It’s within each of us, from the moment we were given our names. We are all our own flower on the mountain - our own hope and empowerment and light. We carry it deep inside ourselves, we just need to muster the courage to look within, to connect with healers that have the wisdom and skill to guide us through the hard work, to go looking for the wildflowers even on the dark days.
May we all find the bravery to slow down and do the deep work.
May we all find the flower on the mountain that blooms within us.
i’m getting together with the dream team behind blank studio NYC to host a community gathering in their beautiful space in soho on april 28th. join us for a slow sunday morning of clay play and manifesting - lock your seat here to zen out with us :)
i’m so excited to offer a limited number of one-on-one creative ritual and grounding sessions - to anyone, anywhere! learn more about how you can ground with me using clay and your breath + find your way if you’re feeling a little unsteady here (and use the code HEALINGCLAY for $11 off!)
i’ll be hosting a mindful handbuilding workshop at BKLYN CLAY on 4/20 where we’ll be digging into clay to learn lifelong handbuilding techniques in their beautiful tribeca studio and getting away from the noise of the city for a slow saturday morning. you can grab your spot here!
two (!) of my most admired artists came out with new albums on friday. it felt like a gift from the universe!! you can listen to waxahatchee’s tigers blood here and adrienne lenker’s bright future here.
i’m continuing to grow my therapy practice in nyc - if you or someone you know is feeling stuck, lost at sea, frustrated, or hurting - I’m here! *please know that, because of licensing, you must live in new york state for us to work together!
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⋰ email: grace@gracecady.com