I have been reflecting on how anger, despair, and a fierce desire to protect those who are vulnerable, has been arising within me lately. There is so much going on around me that I do not agree with, and yet, I’m not in the position to change any of it… I don’t have the power; I’m not the one making the decisions; I cannot MAKE them hear the cries of the people as they spiral into despair when they are abandoned by their governments and their community.
To be honest, anger is certainly not a foreign emotion for me. I have a long and intimate relationship with the fire that burns hot and feral. At times in my life I have been powerless to it – being overwhelmed by it and acting out in ways that were designed to protect me by being BIGGER, BADDER, and SCARIER than the threat I perceived. But I never was. There was always bigger, badder and scarier than me and they hurt me anyway. That anger gave me a sense of false power in the moment, a flash of perceived power over Other.. which is not the true path of a Warrior.
This long journey with anger has brought me into kinship with the true fire of it – anger shows up for us when we’ve been harmed or when our boundaries have been crossed. It’s a powerful motivator into ACTION. If we actually spend time cultivating our emotional intelligence and getting into relationship with our feelings, we no longer are powerless to them. They become friends at the party, coming through the door with messages and plans to accomplish something.
And that is where my recent anger has landed me. One of my mantras is that I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And with allowing the creative fire of anger and passion to sit within me in a healthy way, a new idea was born. The plan? Create something that helps other people who are suffering. Do it in a way that is sustainable and useful and will make small stitches in the fabric that is being currently cut. Do it in such a way that it nourishes my own soul, and also offers opportunities for others to do the same. When we ALL have a part in weaving the fabric of a society that CARES, we ALL benefit.
And therefore, today on ‘Giving Tuesday’, I am SO joyous to introduce to you the HeART it Forward initiative. I will be using my art to create responses to what I am seeing in the world. The art is often provocative, as it is designed to create reflection and FEELING into the subject matter. With this art, I will create useful items to sell and make a commitment that a minimum of 50% of the proceeds will be used for community mental health and wellness supports.
When I can, it will be higher! And being this is the launch on Giving Tuesday, I commit that 100% of the proceeds received in December will go to to the HeART it Forward initiative!
My first offerings are Art Journals. These journals are useful in that they create a safe space in which to reflect, dream, sorrow, and create. Knowing that the purchase of the journal also helped support someone else’s mental health and well-being will continue to nourish your own spirit. Art is a language we all speak, and is a pathway we all can walk to wellness.
As the time goes by and our world continues to shift, I will create art in response and offer more items. We have a new decade looming, and we all must begin to reflect on just how we want to show up in it. Like a ripple in a pond, I hope this one small act reaches out to the larger community… and we all start weaving together.
Be the Change, as Gandhi said. We cannot do everything, but each of us can do something.
Pricing: $23+ shipping
Ordering: Easily through Haven’s Etsy Store here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NKMFeatherstone
About the journals: They are made on demand (no waste) within Canada by Canadian artists (support our own and cut down on the shipping), and they are packaged in sustainable-minded ways.
- Journal page options: Plain, Ruled, Graph, or Bullet
- 48 pages
- 70lb acid free paper with a creamy white smooth finish
- HD resolution colour print
- Scuff resistant velvet ultra matte laminate cover
- Printed and hand bound with high durability tacky glue.
~ Nourish Your Spirit 