Today, for our celebration, I share a beautiful poem offering from a dear friend and wise woman, Lisa Rough, who holds creative wellness tribes for women right here in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

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I have the soul of an artist.

I waltz between letting go and holding on, reaching out into the stratosphere for unique ideas opening my hands and heart to grace and possibility. and allowing others to die away,

I have the soul of an artist.

I understand that there’s no perfect way to begin other than taking that first step… making that first smudge… uttering that first word.

I have the soul of an artist.

I draw out the map as I go, and certainly get lost from time to time, I fly by the seat of my pants on wings of curiosity; only to find that the butterflies dancing in my belly are an indication of how free I am, how ready I am, how alive I am.

I have the soul of an artist.

I write in the present tense; I know that there’s no way to run away from my mistakes, and that I am worthy of the sturdy foundation of courage and forgiveness that they have built beneath my visions and imaginings and impulses.

I have the soul of an artist.

I dabble in the elements as if they were mediums. get swept up in the currents of the river, and stoke the fire planted deep within my belly. I surrender to the wind, dig my roots into the earth,

I get messy. I shake things up, rock the boat, tear the bandage off of the open wound, no longer held captive by my comfort zone.

I have the soul of an artist.

I turn my attention inward, ignoring what others are doing, so as not to compare their purple with my yellow. I tell my inner (and outer) critics to take a hike, and trust that I will still be loved within my own power.

I have the soul of an artist.

I feel things click, click, clicking into place, and wonder, what more can I do to create the change I most long to see? I take the ordinary humdrum of life and breathe it into radical magnificence.

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Lisa Rough is a tribe builder, wellness revolutionary, creative muse, self-taught artist, and visionary writer living in the mountains of North Carolina. It’s her ongoing quest to awaken folks to their WILD, so that they are able to regard each and every moment of their lives as empowered and blessed. Working with women in circle, she provides a sacred space for cultivating health and self-compassion, connection founded in truth, creative moxie, and deep spiritual nourishment. Her paintings and pyrographs expressing her wild imaginings are in private collections all over, and she is currently working on her first book.

Art Heals day 13 :: Lisa Rough {guest post}

Art Heals day 14 :: Darcey Blue of Shamana Flora {guest post}

Art Heals day 12 :: {without words}