Photos on the internet are so pretty, don’t you think? Mine usually are too! It’s way more fun to share all the juicy good stuff and leave the messy middle hidden in your memory and morning pages. Sometimes I’ll share a bite of a project in it’s infancy (like the mug pictured above that poured out of my fingers the other day and is still wet and might turn out an awkward ugly mess after it’s fired), but mostly I like to share my work when I feel like it’s ready to make it’s debut. There’s a lot of joy and pride for me in sharing my work when it’s complete - posting a photo of my pottery in it’s millionth iteration, glazed and fired and shining in some natural afternoon light; witnessing a therapy client have a breakthrough moment; finding a touching email in my inbox from a newsletter reader vulnerably sharing how an essay landed with them; watching workshop participants fall into a calm, creative flow they didn’t know existed.
But my work isn’t actually about any of these finished products.
The value of all I do lays in the practice behind the work, in the process. It’s in the years of practice behind the finished pot you see on my instagram; in the difficult, deep work my clients put in as they show up in my therapy room week after week; in my essays that never launch into the internet but are instead a stepping stone, helping me process something; in one of my wobbly first workshops with a stuttering introduction and only three participants.
The beauty and worth lies in the unwitnessed practices - the tender moments on the winding path.
I don’t have some magic cure to guarantee your days will be calm and clean and smooth. The point of all my work - the mindfulness and processing and creativity and meditation and gratitude and connecting to the body and spirit - is not to come out on the other side as a perfect, nourished being of calmness. I can actually guarantee that won’t happen (sorry!).
My greatest hope for my work is to provide you with space and tools for reflection and growth through the creation of practices.
I hope you build practices big and small into your life. I hope you practice searching inside yourself for the creativity I know is in there. I hope you practice a craft that brings you any bit of joy. I hope you practice messing up, and then practice trying again. I hope you practice mindfulness and presence. I hope you practice being vulnerable and then get to feel the joy of growth that comes along with it. I hope you practice being bad at something. And then I hope you practice being good at something, and really owning it.
When you begin to look at everything you do as a practice, the pressure is released. It doesn’t have to be perfect - it’s practice! Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make progress - what a beautiful thing. So this is your permission to mess up - and try again! - over and over forever. We’re all first time humans, learning and growing and figuring it all out in the best ways we know how.
One practice I’ve been, well, practicing, is consistently pulling tarot cards for reflection and internal guidance. As a celebration of my consistency, I gifted my practice a new deck - the NEO TAROT deck by Jerico Mandybur - and I thought I’d pull a card for us all. A reflection on the hour or day or week or year ahead. Remember - whatever you need it to be, let it be (or let it go).
The Emperor
The Emperor is all about order. It indicates mastery and authority in your life because it allows us to use rules and the ability to say ‘no’ to stand in our power - a reminder that you are the authority in your life. It requests that we exercise discernment, confidence, and the ability to take stock. Create order in your life so you set yourself up to soar, instead of flail.
Setting boundaries - particularly in learning to say ‘no’ when necessary - is an important method of self-care. Navigate with clear and kind communication, but stand up for yourself and your needs with care.
** I have a small handful of spaces for new clients in my psychotherapy practice, including EMDR therapy! You can find out more here and schedule a free consult here. **
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⋰ email: grace@cadywest.com