Hope & Love

Messages of Hope & Love

I never watch the news on TV (actually we got rid of our TV years ago) but from time to time, like last night, I read about the events of the world. It's not that I don't feel concerned, but I know all to well how quickly the drama sinks in and affects me in a paralyzing way. I also know in my heart that the amount of goodness, beauty, love, magic and courage in our world is so much bigger and so much more powerful, even if it rarely ends up in the news.

If what we put our attention on expands, then I choose to be mindful of what images and thoughts I allow in my mind, my heart and my soul.

Laly Mille Art - "Book of Days" art journal page

“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind.”

— Alice Meynell

I started my art journaling practice last year amidst the worldwide emotional craziness. Fear and restlessness took over and I realized how quickly they could freeze my creativity, both in art and in life. At such times, self-preservation instincts kick in and we retreat inward. Our throat feels tight, just like our shoulders and belly. It feels like something is shrinking and hardening deep within.

But once we notice it, we can choose differently.

My art journal really helped me make the shift back to my own truth and purpose. Back to my art. Working intuitively with collage, journaling and cut-out words, messages of hope and love kept showing up on the page. Looking back, I think this is when my journal really became a true friend.

I was breathing again.

On and on it kept me going, kept me creating. Birds kept appearing as little messengers, gently nudging me to listen to my soul, my inner wisdom, and follow this ever-present guidance. Windows started appearing too, like portals of hope and freedom. Layer after layer, light and lightness came back to the surface. Joy, color and playfulness!

I just let it all unfold, trusting the process, the healing.

This page I'm sharing today is not the first page I *created* in my journal (you can see and read about that one HERE) but it's the actual first page when you open the journal: starting with the first page in my first journal felt a bit daunting so I skipped it for a while and came back to it when I felt ready to. That's one of the things I love most about this practice: there are no rules. Well, except the ones you can choose to set for yourself (sometimes it helps) but you're allowed to break those and change them as you please!

Do you keep an art journal? What are the symbols and messages that show up for you again and again?

In what ways does your art journaling practice support and feed your whole creative process, your other art and your life?

Please share your experience in a comment below!

I'll share more pages from my Book of Days in the coming weeks/months. If you'd like to be notified by email, pleas subscribe to my newsletter list below:

Thank you so much for joining me here, and this holiday season I wish you lots of