As the Earth Cracks Open -Poetic Illustration
Category: Poetry
“Wake Up” Poetry and Illustration
Wake up
When that sliver of daybreak tugs at your eyes
Wake up to unexplored possibilities
Stretch your body in gratitude
Embrace the gift of a new day
Open your heart to a compassionate view
Welcome the sun as she rises for you
Ground into this world and listen for what you need
There is work to be done
In the streets and in your own heart
Start from the root
This is the first poem in ‘Start From The Root’, my recently published book of illustrations and poetry. After a year of polishing this book, I’m excited to have completed this goal. I have been writing poetry for most of my life, but only seriously in the past four years. After several people I loved died in just a few years, I began to write poetry as a way to heal. It has been some of the best medicine.
Available on Amzon.comOr download the e-book for Kindle, Nook and other e-readers by becoming a patron at Patreon.com/Loviedo
You deserve to love yourself completely, totally, fully as much as anyone does. Keep healing and I will hold your heart in my heart. If you desire extra support to stay on top of your self-care practice, check out my 3 month challenge: Dive Deeper Into Self-Care.
I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other free creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
*You can also receive also receive art in the mail for a higher contribution.
Poetry: “You Just Need To…”
You Just Need To…
by Leah Oviedo
It’s not that you have to be perfect and brand new
You aren’t a smart phone
It’s not that you have to be loved by everyone
You don’t exist on a pedestal
It’s not that you need to be shiny and look good
You aren’t a diamond ring
It’s not that you need to be smooth and spotless
You aren’t glass
It’s just that you need to love yourself as much as you love those things.
Check out more poetry posts here on my blog.
If you desire extra support in transforming your life, check out my Dive Deeper Self-Care Challenge.
I’m an artist and writer with a focus on art therapy. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month*, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
*You can also receive also receive art in the mail for $12 per month.
Poetry: Rewritten Life
Most days I wake up ready for the world. Some days I wake up exhausted from trying to create a life that I own. Either way, I’m only here today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. So, I feel all the things, try my best to release what doesn’t support me, allow my friends to have their own space, and give myself hugs each day. I love myself because I am finally making my dreams a reality and I have learned so much.
- Be a writer. Check.
- Be an artist. Check.
- Learn how to heal truama. Check.
- Lean how to grieve healthily. Check.
- Learn how to be my own best friend. Check.
- Learn how to play guitar. Check.
- Travel to a foreign country by myself. Check.
I still have a lot to learn, but I can feel pride in knowing what I have learned so far. As the song lyrics go, I don’t know where I’m going, but I know where I’ve been. For you, I hope today you wake up feeling ready for the world. I’ll hold space for you, but you need to hold space for yourself.
I dedicate this poem to all my friends and family who are trying. I love you….
Thank you for subscribing to my blog. I hope you find the content worthy of your time.
I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
Free Preview of My Upcoming Book “Start From The Root”
I’m SUPER EXCITED to share a preview of my upcoming book with you.
I will be publishing my book in October. In this preview, you can enjoy twelve of my original poems and illustrated poems plus bonus illustrations in this free preview. If you want to help me publish this book you can make a one time donation or become a monthly patron. If you give $60, I will send you a signed paperback book one it is published and a complimentary e-book for Kindle or Nook. Visit my Books page to download and give.
Peace and hugs, Leah
I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
Cultivating Support – Journal Prompt
As I embark on an adventure in Costa Rica, I have started journaling what I need for the next six weeks. Whether you are going on an adventure or just need more support in your daily life, I encourage you to start journaling. Write and manifest the support you need for your emotional and physical health.
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What do I need to feel loved?
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Am I receiving sufficient support from myself?
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Which of my needs require support from others?
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Who can I call for support when I feel sad or apathetic?
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Which people in my network are able to support specific goals?
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How can I reach out to my support system? Via phone, text, email or in person?
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How much alone time do I need and how much socializing do I need?
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Which self-care tools do I enjoy the most?
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Do I need to set stronger boundaries? If so, where?
These are just a handful of questions that can help you focus on what you need. You don’t have to answer all at once, but the deeper you dive into your self-care/recovery work the more you benefit. This is a journal prompt you can do more than once. Bookmark this page in your journal to remind you that is okay, in fact it is necessary to feel supported and to ask for support when you need it.
Peace and hugs, Leah
If you like this journal prompt, you can read more on my Patreon page. You can have access to even more once you become a patron. Be sure to check out the rewards you can receive when you pledge $3 or more each month.
I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
Like the image above? It’s in my free coloring book, “Peace, Love and Weirdness”. Click Here to Download the Free PDF and color away.
Four Actions to Cultivate Body Positivity
Every time I walk past issues of Cosmo and other “women’s” magazines, I cringe. Mainstream media has become a teeny bit better about showing different body types, but are still full of ads and articles that body shame, in a sneaky way. I flipped through Cosmo and saw a page encouraging women to not shave their vaginal area. Yet they made sure to sneak in an advertisement for a new razor. Since February is about love (and African-American history), here are four actions you can take to encourage body positivity and self-care.
You are the only person who can love yourself unconditionally. The choice is up to you. Below are a few practices to guide you.
- Start recording compliments. Every time someone, even your parents, compliment you on anything, write it in your journal. Or if you don’t have a journal start writing the compliments on paper and see how many you can collect in a week. The trick with this is that you must read the compliments later. Set a reminder on our phone to read those compliments every 7 days. Do it now! Put this book down and set a reminder to start collecting compliments. Then set a reminder a week from now and set a reminder to read the compliments.
- Find or take a photo of yourself when you look your best. Hang that picture up where you can see it daily and remind yourself that you look good! If you don’t have a good photo or your camera sucks, get a professional picture taken or ask one of your friends who can has a good camera.
- Stop the butt cycle. Yes, the stinky butt cycle. You know when someone compliments you and you reply, “thank you, but…”? That’s a stinky butt. Stop yourself from saying that. Each time you say that, pinch yourself. When you receive a compliment the only thing you need to say is “Thank you”.
- Surround yourself with people who support you. If you have friends or family that put you down, then you need some distance. If someone is consistently hurtful, then you need to cut those ties temporarily or permanently.
This is an excerpt from the new book, Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists and Writers. Download the free e-book version at https://www.patreon.com/posts/book-launch-self-16085856
If you want to learn more about body positivity and find support, I highly recommend the following resources for creating body positivity:
The Love Warrior Community: http://www.lovewarriorcommunity.com
Rae Across America: https://www.facebook.com/RaeAcrossAmerica
Peace and hugs, Leah
I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon. As a patron, you can use and fund projects like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly Radical e-zine, future books and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
Call To Action for the Promised Generation
Promised Generation
by Leah Oviedo
They promised our generation equality
Pulled hoods over our eyes to hide the reality
Work hard and you will reach the American dream
At any cost
They told us it was their fault when we failed
Does that sound familiar?
The real bad guys are still pale and rich
Stealing our tax dollars for oily, greasy power
Forget our schools
Forget our mentally ill
Cultivating poverty to keep us in check
Money will never buy happiness
Pull that hood off.
They said we can do anything a man could do
We can have it all
We are equal now
Except when they rape us
Except what they pay us
Pull that hood off.
Drug dealers and gangs roaming our streets killing our children
Lock away the bad guys, be tough on crime
Police are judge, jury and executioner
Jim Crow never went out of style
Just another form of slavery
Pull that hood off.
It gets better we’re told
Adults are mature, respectful
You can be out of the closet
Get married, be accepted
Unless you’re too flaming
Too gender bending
Pull that hood off.
The air is cleaner
We don’t need all these regulations
Don’t you want a new phone
A bigger car
Water turns our blood to cancer
Our mothers die
Mountaintops disappear and oceans turn to oil
Our fathers perish
Pull that damn hood off.
They are taking your jobs
Taking over your schools
They don’t deserve a living wage
Those people came here illegally
You think you did?
You think nobody civilized was here before you?
Pull that hood off.
Eat more chicken, less red meat
Pumped full of nutrients
Full of hormones and poison
Slaughter warehouse
Tortured to death
So you can have a 99 cent cheeseburger
Pull that hood off.
Terrorists are everywhere
Let’s kill them
On their own soil
Before they come here
Kill their children too
Just in case
Soldiers are disposable
We will honor them once a year
Pull that hood off your eyes
That suffocating, blinding, deadly hood.
Pull it off now before you don’t have any hands to pull with
It’s only uncomfortable at first
Then you feel the warm light
The light of a billion suns
Working together in solidarity
Not charity
Justice for sisters
Freedom for brothers
Healing our children
Who cares which bathroom you use
Opportunities for all abilities
Without borders
Respect Mother Earth
Open your eyes and look around at reality
Where is the equality
Pull that hood off and speak the reality.
I’m an artist and writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a monthly patron on Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you can fund programs like my D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course, my monthly “Radical” e-zine and other creative healing projects, like “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers“.
Self Love is Radical
“Embrace the sweeping everything
that brightens up select rooms
and bows out of others. “ – Katrina Mendoza
Read more in the new e-book, “Cultivating Radical Self-Love: A Collaboration of Healers, Artists & Writers”. Available for FREE at https://www.patreon.com/posts/book-launch-self-16085856
Poem: One Moment in Eternity
One Moment in Eternity
A heavy day from seemingly nowhere.
The morning was bumpy; sticky with issues.
Queasy, I pushed through work, only wanting to crawl into bed.
The afternoon brought me outside.
Here I settle in the dirt.
Digging in the garden looking for peace of mind, peace in my heart.
I reach for the sun, feeling the leafs of plants and the cooling air.
I wonder what tomorrow will bring, try to stay in today and not let it go too fast.
Slipping from my grasp, the day is almost done.
Night has fallen on this early winter day.
Luna welcomes us all to see the stars, feel comfort in her brilliance, love nature and step outside for one moment in eternity.
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Help me publish my next book of poetry, art and ideas. Become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/loviedo
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I’m an artist & writer on a mission to bring healing arts into the mainstream. If you would like to support my heart work, please consider becoming a patron at Patreon.com/Loviedo. For $1 a month, you will support the following projects:
- The Free D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression E-course
- The Free Monthly “Radcial” e-zine
- Free Coloring Books
- Free Self Defense Classes
- FUTURE creative healing projects, like my upcoming book collaboration with a dozen artists, writers and healers who are creating a self-love revolution.
Individual Empowerment 