YOU

“You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”

~Desiderata, Max Ehrman

Artist-Healer-YOU? The transition from performing arts to healing arts is often an easy one. Much of the training is similar if not the same. Breathing techniques, movement training, therapeutic modalities, and introspection. Not only are you constantly diving into your own deep emotional well to authentically portray characters’ feelings, but you also spend a lifetime studying what makes us human, why we do what we do or, to use acting terms, “What is my motivation?” Actors seek to understand without judgement in order to more honestly portray the complexities of human nature. They know that each character, like each person, is doing what they feel is best in any given situation….regardless of our external perceptions of right and wrong.

When we participate in our own healing we must bring intentional focus to the body and the breath and we must begin to ask the question, without judgment, “What is my motivation?” We have been increasingly programed to react from a position of fear. Our pain and trauma, past experiences and relationships, are so deeply ingrained in our habits and responses that we no longer realize we have the option to respond differently. We may not even want to. It is clear to see how this negatively effects our ability to heal. It clouds our view of ourselves and others, and keeps the point of origin hidden so deep that we never have to accept responsibility for the harm we are doing to ourselves and others…but we are doing harm.

Whether it is through performance or healing the goal is the same: we seek to understand and to be understood on behalf of ourselves and others. Each of you has unique gifts and qualities that only you have to give to the world. There has never been a you, in this form in this time, and there will never be again. What is standing in the way of your joy? What is standing in the way of your being the highest version of yourself? What is standing in the way of you offering the world what it so desperately needs that only you can provide? I’ll give you a hint…it’s you. That’s it. Not the people or circumstances you want to blame, not your finances or sleep patterns, not your boss, your ex, social media, or even covid. Just you.

So now that the hard part is out of the way…let’s begin the sweet journey home.

Isn’t it time you return to your essence?