Today we introduced you to our new podcast the Art of Joy. We hope that this little piece of real estate will become a soft place to land.
Perhaps after a long day, or if you are in the darkest rut of your life, we are here to soften your fall. To us, the Art of Joy is recognizing that we are individual masterpieces, and every trial that we are asked to endure is just another layer of chipping away the old so that we can move closer to our superpowers and the genius that we were all born to discover.
We discussed the Hero’s Journey or Night of the Soul. We will dive deeper into this as we progress, but essentially it’s that moment when you find yourself front and center in the dark.
This is the process of moving away from who you once were, and embarking on the journey of who you are becoming. But it’s the middle part that can leave us feeling like we are suffocating in our own shadow.
The shadow is the most crucial phase. It’s here where all of the soul work happens. Think of the metamorphosis of the butterfly. The caterpillar wraps itself in a cocoon and begins the process of transformation. This is the first step of moving away from who it was.
Over a period of time, what we knew as a caterpillar, actually liquifies and becomes a black goopy soup. It stays in this darkness, void of form until the magic happens. The cells that lived in darkness begin to re-organize themselves. In fact, the very DNA is shifting. And then one day, there is this moment of unfolding that must happen.
The caterpillar is now a butterfly, and it must break out of the darkness to take flight. When tragedy becomes our companion, we have to sit in the misery and sadness, the fear, anxiety, pain, and discomfort. The more we allow ourselves to feel in this space, the more we open our potential to transform pain into joy.
The caterpillar cannot become a butterfly without sitting in the dark first. Traumas will always live inside of us; our job is to honor that place, ask better questions, and eventually grow a new life around it. There will still be dates and anniversaries that will take us back to visit the wound, but with work and time, we can expand and contract through these moments and become butterflies.
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.
We talked about Mothers Day. This is a beautiful holiday to honor our Mothers, but for many, this can be a hard day. There are so many scenarios that can make us want to take this holiday off of the calendar forever. Instead, we like to expand our perception of Motherhood and self care, offering us so many different ways to honor the sacred feminine that lives in every single woman, and in some ways to honor the men who have stepped up in life and become the mothers to their children.
We talked about our struggles with Mothers day and shared things we do to make it a holy celebration. We create sacred time to reflect, write, meditate, enjoy nature, or share feelings with a trusted friend or family member. Try to find one small thing to be thankful for. Sometimes when you’re knee deep in the frustration and anger of your trial, you may feel like there is absolutely nothing. That’s ok too. Keep asking yourself the question until you can find the tiniest little things that are ok in life. Perhaps it’s just your breath or the fact that the sun warmed your bones.
We left you all with a challenge to create a moment for yourself to reflect. We would love to hear your stories, in the comment section of our podcast. and hope that you will find little moments of JOY.
Please remember to subscribe to our podcast, comment, and give us a like. Happy Mothers day, and remember Inspired people Inspire people.
You are loved.
— Tre & Ash