My current work in progress is about gentleness. I’ve been reflecting on gentleness a lot this year: gentleness with my children, with the people I interact with daily, with my parents, and mostly with myself. The state of our world makes it so easy to be hard, to be angry, to feel like everyone is an other, to feel divided, right, or entitled. On a more personal level I am often so hard on myself: why am I not more patient, more kind, more driven, more successful, smarter, but also more assertive? I am my worst critic and rarely give myself the grace I so often give other people. This is something I’m working on and therefore something I have been thinking about a lot. So, since this series is about healing, this piece is about one of these important aspects of my healing journey. There are always three components to each piece in this series and this one explores gentleness through the opossum, irises, and rose quartz.
Gentleness detail in progress, the first layers on this area
Opossums may not seem like gentle creatures to many people, as most people see them as pests: they hiss and seem aggressive, but in reality they are perfect symbols for this piece. Opossums think strategically, they are adaptable, resourceful, and grounded creatures. What do you do when you’re backed into a corner? What do you do when you’re overwhelmed? The possum teaches me two lessons here. I can stand and hiss, bare my teeth, or I can play dead. I can become aggressive or I can remain true to my gentle nature. Both of these reactions are okay; I can make an assertive stand and still be a gentle person. I can retreat and turn inward, then come back to life with lessons learned, moving gently through life. Opossums remind me to stay grounded and connected, to adapt to changes.
Irises have long been a symbol of the Greek goddess Iris, who carried messages from heaven to Earth. They symbolize truth. Their strong stems and delicate petals symbolize strength, stability, and gentleness. Emerging in the spring, they symbolize renewal and rebirth as many flowers of spring do, but they also represent the truth that emerges after a time of darkness or uncertainty.
The last symbol I’m using in this piece is rose quartz. One of my favorite stones, strongly connected with my sign of Taurus, known as the heart stone, rose quartz fosters inner healing and self love along with unconditional love and peace. The vibration of rose quartz is connected to the feminine divine, reminding us to mother ourselves with loving care and tenderness. Rose quartz beckons us to heal ourselves, find our strength, self soothe, find our potential, and give ourselves love and compassion.
I hope that today you remember to be gentle with yourself and with others. There is strength in gentleness. Love with compassion and understanding, remembering that we all endure pain and that we are all here together sharing in our humanity. I hope that we can all move through life without an impenetrable hardness within us or around us, so that we react to each other and ourselves with warmth and softness.