A path for a purpose…

I have been ignited y’all!  Im not quite sure where to share my story, except here…where I can write to you all about what I have been up to!  You are all familiar with my art – somewhat – since that is what I have been writing about.  But, that is just one branch of my life.  I think I need to clue you in to the rest of my passions!

First and foremost, I am a mother.  Everything I do stems from this place of being…how can I be the best version of myself that I can be?  I am constantly shifting, changing, exploring, and searching for tools, insights, and self-reflections that will help me grow, evolve, and drop into my authentic being.  Authenticity has been my most recent quest.  How do I make art that reflects my voice?  How do I live my life according to my values? How do I shed the societal influence that causes me to second-guess myself and my choices? How do I trust my own inner voice – my own instincts – and direct my children and family towards my vision for our life? Do I have the courage to fully be myself and risk rejection? I have been feeling inspired and elated lately to take this existential plunge.

I have been on a journey to pursue health and wellness since I was an adolescent.  I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome after two bouts of mono – one when I was just 8 years old in 3rd grade.  I could not make a day of school without falling asleep.  There was nothing anyone could do for me through western medicine.  Essentially there was nothing wrong with me, according to the doctors, there was no medicine they could give or surgery they could recommend.  I did finally “recover” only to go through it again junior year of high school.  It was then that I started to explore alternative medicine – I went to chiropractors, naturopathic doctors, put on supplements, homeopathy, and was told I need to drastically change my diet – which was white rice, a ton of milk, and lots of junk food.  I called the doctor a quack, cried, and refused to change, and struggled to change years after that appointment.

Fast forward to today, I have two children and have learned a lot about diet, nutrition, health and wellness, and alternative medicine through my own exhausted journey.  I have seen, first hand, the strength of plant-based medicine, regular chiropractic care for myself and my children, outside play, limited screen time, and keeping a calm and serene sanctuary for my family and kids to reside in. As a mom, I like to have tools in my belt to support myself and my family.  Having a sense of control has been an important tool in my belt (though I’m working on letting go of the need to control), but when it comes to health and wellness, I am still a control freak!

Segway into my latest tool, and I am sure you are kind of sick of seeing them all over Facebook!  Welcome to essential oils!  I have been using oils for years and knew about Young Living way back to my teenage years and my chiropractor’s office in Jenkintown – circa 20 years ago.  They are the most potent part of the plant; shrub, seed, flower, tree, root, fruit, rind, resin and herb…distilled at the right temperature, and sold in a bottle.  They are a part of our everyday.  From diffusing lavender, lemon and peppermint for seasonal allergies to Purification to purify our air quality after germs / sickness / dry heat.  I lavender my kids before bed to support sleep.  I come at my husband with RC when he has a cold.  I use Thieves on my kids for immune support when they are working through a virus.  I lather myself with Peace and Calm before I see clients so that I stay in present moment with them and their struggles.  I cannot and will not live without them.

I currently have a small, wooden, apothecary type cabinet to hold them along with our other natural remedies and supplements.  I am giddy excited when I go to pull out something I know, is pure – from the plant – and strong…yet gentle enough not to overwhelm the body and the nervous system.  We ingest them (only Young Living’s vitality line), we diffuse them to create a calm / serene environment, and we apply them topically.  My kids ask for them everyday.  My husband is exploring them.  And I am telling everyone I know about them, because I decided “no more hiding”…if I have a tool that works, and can work for most people to support their family in health and wellness, why would I hide that from people?  Essential oils are blowing up the market.  People are discovering their power!  People are elated, like I am, to have a tool in their belt to turn to before some harsher / over-the-counter medications.  Oils are not meant to replace medicine.  They are not used to treat and cure disease.  They are used as a proactive tool to help support the body’s processes in support of overall wellness.

In the next coming months, I am going to do a deep dive on oils and emotions.  My family is emotional – no way around that fact.  My kids are sensitive.  They act out their emotions behaviorally and their sense of self can change on a dime.  Happy to tears in a moment – I am sure you all can relate.  I know emotions are stored in areas of the body and I know that certain oils can help release those blocks.  Aroma and mood have always been linked, imagine smelling baking bread in the oven, and all of a sudden your mood changes to calm, serene, and content.

For now, my journey continues to be for health, wellness, toxic-free, organic foods, spiritual pursuits, present moment mommy, grounded therapist, creative artist and life-long learner.  I am finding my tribe, my passions, and showing up everyday to be the best version of a woman I can be – a role-model for my kids to pursue their passions!  I trust that I am being guided and I am going to try my best to lean into the journey. Just me, my family, my art, my oils, and my heart.

To learn more about Young Living essential oils or order your Premium Starter kit click HERE.  Or leave me a message below!

Namaste!

                                                                  My family – 2017 – photograph credit Sharyn Frenkel Photography.

Art and oils – more to come with this idea…This piece of art was created while diffusing Joy…I feel this piece captures the essence of Joy as I feel it opens up my heart and makes me feel elated- what do you think? Leave me your thoughts below!  If your interested in any of my artwork, please visit my shop!

“Ethereal Joy”, 12″x 12″, Acrylic on Paper, 2017

 

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A little bit of magic…

 

Greetings fellow magicians!

As of late, a bit of magic has been in the air.  I feel it this time of year, every year.  It rustles through the trees, beckoning me to be guided by it.  The smells, the sounds, and the air of fall brings about a sense of magic and wonder.  Leaves change color and the Earth is transformed into a canvas painted by an unseen artist.  The roots of the trees dig in a little deeper this time of year to prepare for Winter’s quiet retreat. If your still enough, you can hear the life on Earth preparing for its journey inward, hibernation.

This time of year, I search for things to express this magic that I feel.  Certain rituals to help me and my family prepare for the long, quiet journey inward.  Pumpkin picking, harvest festivals, bon fires and s’mores, long walks through dark corn mazes, brisk morning hikes through the trees, acorn collection, and soup-making.  The anticipation of the gatherings to come where families share in the abundance that the year has provided. These seasonal changes bring about a rhythm to our life.  We trust that they come each and every year.  We revel in gratitude that another year has gone by, just as the year before, and trust that another one will come again.

While fall naturally brings about feelings of joy, gratitude, and abundance and a general giving of thanks, they are feelings that bring about a bit of magic all year long.  Living by way of gratitude and trust opens us up to the natural flow and rhythm of our lives.  Trust is a natural anchor; our own roots that allow us to dig in a bit deeper as we prepare for our inner journey.  When we live by trust, we allow ourselves to be guided by the bigger force in our lives.  Stepping into a divine flow or a natural order of things. Nature has no fear, no ego, no hesitation – its guided by instinct.  Its own principles, rhythms, cycles, and balance.  It is that force that informs squirrels to gather nuts for the winter, or bears to sleep for months at a time only to trust that it will be woken when ready for spring.

How do we honor and live by trust?  It is the small daily actions of living in trust.  It is the belief that we are enough, that we have enough, and that there is enough for everyone.  It is the surrender of control and trying  on the belief that everything will work out as it needs to.  It is the release of expectations regarding people, money, relationships, and how things should be – including yourself! It is sitting with the discomfort of the unknown, the unresolved, and the uncomfortable without fixing it / changing it / controlling it or running from it. Just as we trust the sun to rise, the rain to stop, the seasons to change,  there is nothing to “do” but “allow”. It’s a bit of magic to see how orchestrated your life actually is, when you step back and ALLOW!

Every piece of artwork I create takes an act of trust.  I trust I will create what is meant to be created.  I trust that the art will express what it needs to express.  I trust that I will create lines and patterns in the moment that will fill the space.  I trust that if the image created is not beautiful, that it was still meant to be created.  I trust that if the art I produce isn’t loved by others, that it doesn’t mean that I am not an artist, meant to create artwork, or loved by others.  I trust in the rhythm of my work, the process, and the expression.  I focus on the creation and disconnect from the outcome.  I allow myself to be guided by my instincts.

Yesterday was an act of trust.  A grounding was necessary after days and weeks of ongoing movement in my family with things that needed to get done and places we needed to be on time.  I was restless.  I was agitated. I needed to reconnect.  Instead of fixing, seeking, changing, doing – I worked on “being”.  I made a wreath by weaving, glueing, and punching felt.  I set intentions for my week.  I lit a candle and put on music that spoke to my soul. I burned wood with a tool to create new art and put a pot of something nourishing on the stove.  I watched my son dump rocks over and over again.  It seemed we both needed a day of ritual and repetition.  An act of trust. An act of being.  An act of allowing.  A knowing that everything will resolve in its time and if we wait, listen, and be present – we might just get a little bit of magic.

 

And a picture of my wreath!

“Toadstool Forest”, Pen and ink on Bristol Board – if you want a bit of magic in your space, check out my work on http://www.etsy.com/shop/lrwinter

HeartFULLY,

Leah Reitz Winter

Simplicity

So much hype around the term simplicity lately that I often wonder, if its another thing to perfect and another failure for those of us trying to always do the “right thing”.  I reflect on this lately as I continue to strive for it in my life – maintain it – hold onto it like a life preserver through the waves of “do more, have more, be more”. So much is coming up for me that I have to act upon; kids birthday parties, weddings, clients, art ideas / blogs, marketing, soccer, dance, dinner, whew!  Its no wonder that sometimes I want to say no to all of it.  To hide under the covers with my kids and decide that its OK to not participate in the world and all it wants from us.

So, how do you keep it all together? How do you know when to act and when to pull back?  Art is a way to help me check in.  This Hamsa for instance, was drawn simply from the need to make sense of it all!  I didn’t know what imagery or markings I was going to fill it with as I’m still trying to brand myself.  But what I did know, was that I needed to “draw it out”.  Some people run it out, some people sleep it off, I scribble until it feels complete.  When I looked back at it after I was done, I realized one thing.  It was the exact piece I needed to make for me – it was symbolic of everything I was going through.  Strong, yet fragile lotus with the most perfect wave looming overtop – threatening to drown it with its force and grace.  Both created to serve its purposes, yet who will prevail?!  We are being called to step into authenticity.  The truth of who we are.  The strength and the fragility.  The beauty and the aggressive.

This leads me to another thought. ” What if everything is as it should be?” This piece created itself – not out of thought, planning, or perfecting.  But out of sheer need to communicate a message to me (and to whomever it resonates with).  All is well.  All will be revealed. All in good time.

I walk in the woods with my son.  We study and collect acorns.  We come home and paint, read, and snuggle.  And sometimes I have to go to work and they have to fend without me.  But all is well.  I worry I am missing out, I tell myself that is the perfectionist in me telling me that.  Bombarding me with messages that feel that no matter what, I am failing in some way.  Strong hand, fragile flower, and constant waves of rough and calm seas.  Life, motherhood, and our humanness create this struggle for us to face daily.  Who will prevail?  Which part of me will speak louder than the other?  Today I face my challenges and comfort my fears.  All is well my friends, all is and will always be…well.

Love, light, and heartFULL,

Leah

If this print speaks to you as well, order it here! https://www.etsy.com/listing/477327467/hamsa-art-print-pen-and-ink-drawing-sea?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Stepping out…

Well friends, I’ve done it.  I stepped into the blogging world and out of my Cancerian shell.  A couple of people have been encouraging (dare I say shoving) me to do it.  A lot of my own inner voice, God, best authentic self (whatever you want to call it), has been begging me to step out of my hiding spot and into a place where I can bridge my passions; art, the unconscious, and reflections / attractions on this spiritual voyage.

This blog is dedicated to reflections and projections; the inner journey into outer manifestation!  The process of spiritual self-actualization through my specific journey, trials, and art expression.  It’s funny where our messages in life show up.  Sitting in Sunday school with my daughter, of course in complete distraction because she is learning about God, not me, I heard the minister speak about showing up for a relationship with God.  That He can guide us on our way!  Until we show up to receive, we will not be supported!  The words hung with me for a while as I realized, while sitting there, that I was being called out!  Im not showing up!  Im not showing up for my daughter and role-modeling, I’m not showing up for myself in presence, and Im not showing up for the people / life that awaits when I pay attention to the mental chatter in my head that is distracting and pulling me in a million different directions.

How many times do we pull back out of fear? Out of shame?  Out of fear of being exposed as a fraud or out of fear of vulnerability? Art expression is one of those areas that elicit anxiety for most artists; the oscillation between ‘I love it” and “I hate it” happens so automatically.  A place where self-judgment rears its ugly face, yet artists express over and over again.  We – they – can’t help it!  It’s something that needs to be born, expressed, said out loud, and explored.  True artists show up for themselves and their art.  They follow blindly, being led by their creative intuition, daring to be different and NOT so trendy.  Yet, they second-guess, try, fail, and continue to put themselves out there.

So, I am learning to show up.  On a minute by minute basis, I am being asked to shed the cloak of fear and hesitation.  Every moment, I have a choice.  I can run from the life that I want for fear that I can’t “pull it off”, or I can head towards it in small steps, taking risks, and daring to be joyful.  If we truly followed the path of self-actualization and continued to shed our conditioned mind, we would be a more vulnerable, fearless, and creative society!

This piece of art is symbolic of that very process of stepping out.  The Blue Heron, on two small thin legs, symbolize self-stability.  He doesn’t need a large foundation to feel secure.  Contemplative, a lone hunter, yet grande and magnificent, these creatures symbolize determination, expansion of self, self-reliance, and inner security.  Im borrowing his strength to step out, stand tall, and look out at the vast horizon towards uncharted territory!  I hope you follow me on that journey.

Peace and blessings,

Leah

“The Majestic”, 11×14 ink on Bristol Board, 2015

Leah Reitz Winter Studio | Promote Your Page Too

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