There’s something magical about stumbling upon a koi pond in the middle of an old growth forest. A secret hidden gem tucked away behind towering Redwood trees off the main trail. The world is perfectly sized. Too big to explore and discover it all, but small enough to try.
What Are You Complaining About?
Milagra Ridge, Pacifica
As we continue on our path and purpose in life, our needs change. Problems and challenges arise when we aren’t aware of our needs or feel safe enough to ask for what we need.
One of the best ways to identify your needs is to listen to what you complain about.
Complaints are unmet needs in disguise.
Life can meet your needs once you’re able to name them and ask for support. If you’re constantly complaining about your job or your relationship or how stuck you feel, instead ask yourself, “What do I truly need instead?” Maybe it’s rest. Affirmation. Meaning. Validation. Intimacy. Support.
This is the key to your freedom. Figure out what your needs are. Only then can you find your way out of the maze and back to your true self.
Enduring The Beams of Love.
“We are here to learn to endure the beams of love.”
This is hard and difficult work. But isn’t this our greatest work? We are conditioned from a young age to put armor on to prevent our hearts from getting hurt. We build walls to protect ourselves from the pain of rejection, the pain of loss, the pain of feeling abandoned and alone.
But the most beautiful, raw, tender moments are when we allow those walls to crumble and let the beams of love touch our hearts. Sometimes there comes a point when we are too sick, too weak, or too lost to even find the pieces of our armor. When we feel the most vulnerable, this is when we are met with the achingly beautiful beams of love from those who sweep in to support us.
We are not put here on earth to endure the pain of love. We are here to experience and endure the beauty of love.
We Are Made Up of Layers, Cells, Constellations.
“We do not grow absolutely, chronologically. We grow sometimes in one dimension, and not in another; unevenly. We grow partially. We are relative. We are mature in one realm, childish in another. The past, present, and future mingle and pull us backward, forward, or fix us in the present. We are made up of layers, cells, constellations.”
Original alcohol ink on yupo paper, 11x14”. Available for purchase in my shop.
"Nuts About You" Vinyl Stickers!
If you’re NUTS about your friends and how they’re always RAISIN you up, you need this sticker!
Perfect for laptops, water bottles, or anywhere else that could use a little sparkle! Waterproof and sun-proof.
The backstory behind this piece:
A few weeks ago, I was feeling uninspired and unmotivated to make or create anything. I knew that having novel ‘raw materials’ would help the situation and inspire me to see the world from a different angle. I foraged through the snack bin at work and spotted a bag of trail mix.
Once I got home, I cut open the bag and poured out the contents onto a paper napkin. “What do you see, Julianne?” I asked myself.
Nothing.
I was tired.
This was a silly exercise.
I started eating some cashews and peanuts. I noticed how an almond looked like the back of a woman’s head, perhaps because I was subconsciously thinking about my upcoming haircut that weekend and how I wanted it shaped with subtle rounded corners too. Then I laughed, and recognized how a whole peanut could be the back of another person’s head. Feeling a rush of new energy, suddenly a cashew appeared like another woman, tilting her head ever so slightly to the right.
I was off to the races. I had these three individuals in my mind’s eye. I started sketching out their bodies in pencil. But there was something missing. Diversity. And that’s when I saw the raisin. I knew I was set.
I’m sharing this process because so often we think we need to have the ‘finished product’ in mind when we begin. That’s Resistance. Resistance makes us believe we need to have the details all perfectly filled in before we can start. Which is why most people never get started, let alone finish. In reality, it’s about starting, iterating, reimagining, and moving forward, one step at a time.
Resistance is a tough nut to crack.
But you can overcome it if you don’t take yourself too seriously and approach everything as play. You may find the nuts have already been cracked for you, and it’s your job to rearrange them into something meaningful and delightful.
(If you’re interested, this sticker is AVAILABLE IN MY SHOP. Thank you to everyone who supports and purchases my art- as a small business owner, it means the world to me.)
It Takes Courage To Say YES.
Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve in La Honda, CA
“It takes courage to say YES.
There comes a moment in your life when fear and dreams collide-
Most people choose to play it safe to never risk their pride.
But if you listen to that voice which calls from deep within,
You’ll find that you can walk with faith across the great divide.
It’s never going to go away, so it’s best to befriend your fear,
And step into the great unknown
And watch how doors appear.
Be wary of the ones who tell you that it can’t be done-
The way you write or paint or draw or sing or code for fun.
Keep putting in the daily work when no one else can see,
With time you’ll find that you’ll become who you were meant to be.
It begins with that first step as you say yes to something new-
Perhaps you don’t know where to start or exactly what to do.
But trust that life experience has prepared you for this time,
Bravely ascend the path ahead, and trust that you’ll be fine.
It takes courage to say YES.
Say YES.
”
Everything Is Blue Again Like Morning.
I’m swimming again. The first time in 15 months. No lane reservations or 35-minute time limits. There is an immense freedom and comfort in diving into the quietude of the womb-like water feeling weightless and free. Water has always been my home. In the past few weeks, I have stayed close to the ocean and it has reinvigorated my spirit, recharged my creativity, and restored my soul.
“Here I came to the very edge
where nothing at all needs saying,
everything is absorbed through weather and the sea,
and the moon swam back,
its rays all silvered,
and time and again the darkness would be broken
by the crash of a wave,
and every day on the balcony of the sea,
wings open, fire is born,
and everything is blue again like morning. ”
New original alcohol ink Kanzaki Cards are now available in my shop!
The Poetry Room!
I’m thrilled and honored to be one of the special guests tonight sharing a new spoken word poem. Join us tonight at 5:30pm PST on Clubhouse!
You Are the Medicine.
Sunrise from Pleasure Point, CA
Last weekend’s Airstream camping adventure.
Scoping out the whales.
Morning pages. My favorite way to start the day.
“Heal yourself with the warmth of the sun and the light of the moon. With a deep inhale of ocean breeze. Heal yourself by putting pen to paper and filling up blank pages with your own words and poetry and stories you want to remember. Heal yourself with the crackling and heat of a campfire and let your worries dissolve into the darkness of the sky. Heal yourself with turmeric, chamomile, ginger, cacao, maca, reishi, lion’s mane. Ground your bare feet into the packed cool sand and dig your toes into the earth while the ocean waves wash over you. Feel the grounding cord of energy connect you to the earth’s depth. Stand in your power. Heal yourself by honoring your energetic boundaries and listening to your intuition. Dance, sing, laugh, create. Make love. Allow yourself to feel deep pleasure in every part of your life. Heal yourself with nourishing food, nurturing friendships, and never forget- you are the medicine.”
Moving Through Grief: A Spoken Word Poem
On May 12, 2021, my mentor and meditation teacher passed away. It was unexpected, jarring, and shocking to hear the news and digest it. We met together every week for the past four years. When COVID hit, we gathered virtually every Monday evening at 8pm. He never once missed a meeting. He was the most consistent, reliable, knowledgeable, quirky, and generous human being I’d ever met. Throughout many of our sessions together, I remember thinking to myself, “This is the most seen I’ve ever felt by another person.” In February at the closing of one of our meetings he said, “You know, Julianne, there’s a lot of love here.” We both knew how special our friendship was.
The moment I found out he had passed away, I immediately messaged my friend who is a psychologist and specializes in grief and loss. “I just lost someone extremely close to me- perhaps this is the first time I’ve ever experienced losing someone that was such an important part of my life. Any resources would be greatly appreciated.”
She shared a TED Talk with me on the topic of grief- how it is not an event, it’s a process. Grief is not something we ‘get over,’ but rather it is something we move through and move with together.
This line became the seed of my poem.
Flooded with deep emotions and energy pulsing through my heart onto the page, this poem was born.
My mentor taught me that we can experience pain but we can also choose to transform it. Staying in the suffering does not serve us.
He shared his meditation practices and regularly wrote and sent his poems to me to read. He always inquired about the art I was working on and encouraged me to use my current challenges as conduits to create new forms of art. He effectively encouraged me to transmute and tranform pain into beauty. It felt fitting to use art and poetry to express my grief and love as a tribute to his life and his legacy. I am emerging from this time tender and transformed, hopeful and deeply grateful. May this poem encourage you to see the gifts in your grief, knowing that I am here too- moving with and moving through grief with you. There’s a lot of love here.
He taught me to see the world through a new lens- one that can use everything for good, for beauty. Here, snap pea leaves that I recognized could be the raw materials for a piece of art.
Rules To Live By.
Every day is a good day to follow Sister Corita’s rules. These have been particularly relevant to my recent creative projects where I’ve been experimenting, flirting on the edge of my comfort zone, and surprising myself in terrifying yet fulfilling new ways.
Dancing across disciplines of philosophy, coaching, art, nature, energy healing, nutrition, and poetry, I’ve learned it’s less about learning a particular subject matter. It’s more about learning about myself. Our interests and life preferences and passions change and fluctuate because we are fluid and changing human beings.
If we’re not changing, we’re dying.
Cheers to making art that is experimental and shatters old paradigms. Art that is courageous and generous. Cheers to following the rules. Cheers to breaking them all.