Tag: love

Empowering Discussions

We Are The Problem; We Are The Answer

Impower You

You’ve heard it before. I’ll repeat it as often as needed.

WE CANNOT CHANGE THE ENTIRE WORLD, BUT WE CAN CHANGE OUR SELVES. 

Your power is inside your core. It is rooted in your intelligent, your compassion, your health. Each time you make some bullshit excuse and say yes to convenience over sustainability, each time you allow the hate of people like Trump and his supporters, or the greedy policy of corporate backed democrats, or that rude, gossipy person in your life push you down and hurt you and you say “I give up”, you are NOT being part of the solution. You are not living from your truth.

When you confront these decisions and people and stay strong in your heart space, you win. We all win. I didn’t want to believe that inner peace was the answer. It sounded too new age, too out of touch. Inner peace doesn’t stop a violent partner or a racist police force. But years of learning about the whole world instead of just my bubble has taught me that our personal actions are extremely powerful.

I’m understanding this message more each day. We are the problem and the answer. Together we thrive, but only if our individual self is communicating from a place of compassion and intelligence.  

>>>>> What do you think about that? <<<<<

Illustration of a hand and arm with roots extruding from the arm, placed behind rib cage, single eye located on top portion of rib cage. Art by Leah Oviedo
Follow Leah Oviedo on Patreon.com/Loviedo

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“.

Empowering Discussions

Wonderful, Powerful, Brave, Infallible….

Impower You

We are all POWERFUL beings of LOVE. Yea that’s sounds corny as hell, but in light of the hate that has been given permission to grow by the trump administration here in the USA(a nation built on stolen land) the past few years, it’s a message we need to embrace. We have a choice each day. We can believe that hate and violence is inevitable or we can believe that love and mediation is unstoppable and INFALLIBLE. I won’t tell you which to choose. Your life is your journey to discover, listen, and learn. But I HOPE, more than anything that you choose to be BRAVE, release hate, prejudices and biases, and embrace the truth that you are capable of being love to all, in all situations.

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“.

Empowering Discussions

An Open Letter to the Outcasts and Trend Setters, Lovers and Haters, Wild and Tame

Impower You

Dear World,
You are such beautiful souls. Life can be rough and you may sometimes feel tired, unappreciated, alone or worthless, but you are never alone and you have worth. You are a squishy mess of bones and muscles just like everyone else. I want you to feel accepted and feel connected.


You are such beautiful souls. Life can be rough and you may sometimes feel tired, unappreciated, alone or worthless, but you are never alone and you have worth. You are a squishy mess of bones and muscles just like everyone else. I want you to feel accepted and feel connected.

Some people may be full of too much fear and be cruel toward you, but remember that is their reflection, not yours. Hopefully one day they can unlearn their hate and prejudice, but until then we must keep on our own path, live our own truth, be the change we want.

I accept who you love, your heritage, your beliefs, your hopes and dreams and fears and doubts. I want you to know that I will never judge you, use you or be cruel to you. Nobody deserves that. We all have our own paths to walk, our own riddles to solve. We have to do it our own way even if we don’t understand why.

Your smile makes me smile. Your kindness lifts me up. Your laughter brings me joy. You are unique and I love that about you. Sometimes you will teach new lessons to others. Sometimes others will teach you lessons. You will learn and unlearn so much in your lifetime. Allow that to happen. Don’t fight change. Use change to grow and expand your compassion and knowledge. We all need these changes because life is a journey and there is so much to learn and unlearn.

All the different languages you speak and places you are from, the different causes you stand up for and passions that give you that special spark, the work you do, the places you volunteer, the art you create, the shared belief that we can create a healthier world for EVERYONE; all of that from YOU gives me hope and a sense of belonging.

You makes life interesting, happy, worthwhile.

When you want to give up, remember that you are capable. You are stronger than you think. You matter and so do your dreams. Without you the word would be a different place. It wouldn’t be as rich. You are an integral part of this world.

Your voice and vision are important.

You will bend, but never break. You will hurt, but you can heal.

As long as your intentions are to support everyone and everything with love and acceptance the world needs you. We need more acceptance, not tolerance, but flat out acceptance that we are all different, but equal. We are all important and our individual journeys are equally important.

I’m so grateful for the diversity of our world, for those who never stop believing and for those who tried, but gave up. Thank you for being you. I hope you continue trusting your true self and exploring new paths on your journey.

If you’re still discovering who you are and feeling lost, than know that you will find it one day soon. I don’t know how or what form it will take, but you will. Look inside and listen to your voice, only your voice. Just keep trying, keep believing in yourself, respect yourself and know that you have a friend who believes in you, wants you to be happy, wants you to be healthy.

You matter. You always have and you always will.

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“.

Poetry

Poetry: “You Just Need To…”

Impower You
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.

Empowering Discussions

Join the Dive Deeper Self-Care Challenge

Impower You

The Dive Deeper Self Care Challenge has begun! This will be a time to dive into that all the stuff you’ve been avoiding, uncover the roots of your pain or why you’re stuck, and learn how to practice regular self-care for you and your situation. If I can bounce back from a 17 year depression, I believe in others abilities to heal their life. During the challenge, unwanted emotions will arise because that’s what happens when we don’t practice self care or heal our traumas. Trauma lingers withing us until we heal it.

I started this challenge for a few reasons. The first reason is through my own healing and recovery work I’ve learned the importance of regular self-care. Through recovery I have learned that when I didn’t practice often enough I began to feel the negative impact in my daily routine.

The second reason is that many of us hear this message that self-care is about feeling happy and doing anything to make that happen even if its not necessarily good for us, just so we can not feel pain. Things like spending money we don’t have in the instant gratification of retail therapy, or drinking and getting high with friends so we can forget our troubles, or gambling all our spending money on chance and expecting to WIN BIG someday. It could also be working 60 hours a week to earn more money and not focus on what makes us happy from the inside out. These become unhealthy when we don’t use moderation. But by forgetting or ignoring what causes us suffering we are intensifying our problems. This is not self care.

The third reason is to guide those who are desiring to transform their life. This is for you if you really, really, really want to be healthier and love yourself or because you’re sick and tired of being sick and tried. If that’s not enough reasons for you to practice self-care regularly, how about knowing that poor mental health can cause poor physical health and shorten your lifespan.

Are you ready to cultivate a sustainable self-care practice? Are you intrigued and want to learn more? Join me at https://impoweryou.org/divedeeper.

Want to share this with someone who is wanting more self-care in their life? Please do!

Peace and hugs, Leah

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 receive art in the mail every month for only $12 a month.

Poetry

Poetry: Rewritten Life

Impower You

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“.

Art

Beach Love Art

Impower You

I made his heart with seaweed on a beautiful sunny day at the beach. It’s one of my favorite pieces, even though I’m not usually a fan of heart designs. I love creating art outside because it is a calming experience, akin to meditation for me. It is also non-toxic, doesn’t create waste and the supplies are free so everyone can make art.

You can receive postcards or prints of this piece by becoming a patron of my work on Patreon.com/Loviedo. 

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“.

Poetry

Self Love is Radical

Impower You

“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

Poetry

Poem: One Moment in Eternity

Impower You

 

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.
….
Help me publish my next book of poetry, art and ideas. Become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/loviedo
….

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:

Empowering Discussions

Anger and Love, Shaming and Mocking

Impower You

Some of us consistently feel intense anger, some of us consistently feel an abundance of love. Let’s stop shaming those with anger and stop mocking those with love. Instead we can respect each others emotions and perspectives.  

We can support each other to heal what is broken without fighting hate with hate. We can encourage each other to be more openly loving without fear of teasing. 

How can we take these actions into our life today and moving forward into the future?
………………………..

Diy therapy book cover

“D.I.Y. Therapy: Healing Depression” is available through Amazon; available as both an e-book and a paperback.

If you’re suffering from depression I strongly encourage you to seek help. If you can’t afford a therapist find a supportive mentor, teacher or healer who can help you discover inner peace. Healing is possible IF you are open and willing to commit to a self-care plan.

Want more? Print and enjoy my FREE COLORING BOOKS!