Your Purpose as a Guiding Beacon of Light
Plus! 1st FREE workshop for subscribers-only is happening 12/21/23! Register Today
Hello beautiful readers,
Recently I learned that one of our local leaders, Lois Galgay Reckitt, passed way from colon cancer. Lois was a woman who spent her life time in support of and fighting for equal rights for women, most recently as a state representative here in Maine.
In the article about her passing, there’s a clip of her addressing the legislature, sharing her story of her purpose and how it influenced each chapter of her life. She unpacks each twist and turn in a way that demonstrates how purpose guided her actions, guided her decisions, and guided her to understand how she could play a role in fulfilling it.
I had the pleasure of getting to work for Lois when she was the head of a local domestic violence agency. I’d applied to work as a shelter advocate, just a few months after my mom’s death from breast cancer. I had long been interested in working in domestic violence, and those reasons became even more clear as I assumed the roll.
My roll as a shelter advocate involved answering the hotline, supporting and education callers about their rights and resources, screening potential shelter residents for eligibility to come into shelter, and coming up with a safe plan to get them into shelter or in touch with a resource that could make a significant difference in their ability to leave an abusive relationship. At times the work was very intense but the purpose of the work helped me navigate the challenges that we faced.
My work in domestic violence helped me to understand the importance of learning how to work through grief. Since my mom had just died, I was highly sensitive to recognizing the signs of profound grief. I saw a lot of unexpected similarities between myself and the women who came into shelter. But for these women, the stakes were so much higher, especially for the ones who didn’t know how to grieve the loss of their relationship- despite the fact that it had caused them so much harm.
This awareness helped me to understand my purpose, I needed to figure out how to grieve in a way that genuinely relieved the pain, so that I could teach others how to do the same. I recalled how curious I’d been about art therapy, and as I researched the techniques and graduate programs, it became clear that this was the right path for me.
Getting trained as an art therapist was a fully immersive process, one that gave my personal grief work deep focus while I learned and experienced its power with clients. I left school feeling deeply connected to my purpose and how it could ease suffering while generating so much hope, appreciation, and joy.
Our purpose is one that often shifts over time, and it can show up in a multitude of ways in our lives. Learning how to notice those shifts supports our ability to keep evolving over time, even when we go through periods of feeling lost or disconnected from our purpose.
The intention behind today’s art prompt is to help you feel how your purpose lives inside of your body, mind, and spirit, so that you can practice to move with it through the ups and downs of life. I hope that it serves you well, especially as the days grow darker for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere.
Warmly,
Stephanie
Excerpt from the book…
Since this newsletter is talking about purpose (again, I suppose!), I thought that this excerpt from the chapter about treatment ending. I hope you enjoy it!
The desire to find meaning and take advantage of your new lease on life
This moment may ignite the fire in your belly to make changes in your life that allow you to live more aligned with your purpose. For others, it’s a desire to return to a feeling of normalcy, a desire to reclaim the life you felt separated from. Either way, the essence of this moment is to not take life for granted.
Cancer often helps clarify and illuminate your values. Cancer may signify what you’re no longer willing to put up with. Cancer helps you identify what sacrifices you’re willing to make. Cancer helps you value the people and circumstances of your life that bring a deep sense of meaning.
The tricky piece is managing the internal pressure that you might feel to never take life for granted again.
Your Creative Prompt for this Issue…
(P.S. you don’t have to be an artist to do this!)
Before doing this exercise, set yourself up for doing some art and writing. Any kind of art medium will work- so chose something you have on hand or treat yourself to a few supplies. Here’s my basic list for starting an art journal.
This newsletter’s creative prompt guides you to explore how you experience your purpose in your body, mind, and spirit. Here’s the YouTube video I made to guide you through the prompt.
When you’re finished making the art, I’d highly recommend doing a free write (answering without editing) about your artwork. Here are some questions that might help you describe what you did:
What happened?
How did it make you feel in that moment?
How do you feel now?
I’d love to hear from you about how this prompt went for you. Feel free to share in the comments below or email me directly!
Behind-The-Scenes Look
The PR firm has secured my first article placement with Professor’s House! It’s an article about perfectionism. I would love to have you read it and to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to share it with others. Here’s the link. One down and hopefully many more to follow!
Upcoming Workshops-
12/21/2023~ Art Therapy for Self-Reflection & Energy Clearing @ 6pm EST. A free workshop for my wonderful readers! Let’s create community together and take a moment to reflect back on 2023. Space is limited, so register today if you want to attend. A recording will be shared in the January newsletter if you’re not able to come. PS. If you have a gal-pal who you know would love to join, invite her to subscribe to the newsletter so she can register. Event is open to all women readers, whether you’ve had breast cancer or not.
This is just the beginning of how I want to create community with you all. I’m starting to plot out all of the programming ideas I have for 2024! So stay tuned, there will be more events and group coaching opportunities kicking of in January.
These opportunities will be for newsletter subscribers only- so if you’ve just happened upon this newsletter, I hope you sign up! Would love to extend these opportunities to each of my readers.
If you have a suggestion for a theme or workshop offering, feel free to leave a note below or send me an email. I’m also open to collaborating if you know an organization that would love to host an Intro to Art Therapy workshop.
XO,
Stephanie