It’s been a long 12 months, but one thing that brought me immense joy this year was the hour and a half I spent in my Expressive Arts groups on those special Saturdays. Here are the affirmations we closed with and carried with us throughout the year. I’m so proud of everyone who joined me. Thank you. 🌟😌
So very excited to announce the NAMI-NYC Expressive Arts workshop event I will be hosting this Saturday! This event will be via Zoom and on the NAMI-NYC website. You can find the link here. Click the Expressive Arts Zoom link for November 30, 2024.
IMPORTANT: This Expressive Arts workshop and the ones following this one are from 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm!
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to send me a DM or email 💟. The time of the event is in Eastern Standard Time.
*I will share any updates or changes and keep everyone posted.
Here are some details for the event:
Title:
Final Thoughts
Description:
“Final Thoughts” is a creative and reflective event where we will draw and write about the past year. We will begin with an icebreaker: sketching an image and listing five words we would use to describe 2024.
The main activity will then be choosing one of three options:
1. Draw a series of holiday ornaments, and next to each ornament, write an intention or message you want to carry forward.
2. Write an acrostic poem that spells “Thank You.” In each line, share something that inspired, motivated, or impacted you this year.
3. Write a farewell letter to what you want to leave behind in 2024.
We will conclude by sharing our creations.
Materials:
Paper, writing utensils (pen, pencil, markers, or crayons).
Schedule
2:00 – 2:20: Introductions and Ice breaker
2:20 – 3:00: Main Activity
3:00 – 3:30: Sharing and Closing
Hope to see you there!
What motivates and inspires your creativity?
Hi Pencil Case fam! ❤️
Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying my best to find inspiration and motivation to start writing and creating again, especially since October was really tough on my creativity. So far, I’ve found that connecting more with myself, resting, taking long walks, and exploring different art spaces in stores have helped me feel a little better and inspired new ideas. I even attended a storytelling workshop that I really loved with NAMI-NYC recently!
I’m curious to know what inspires and motivates you. What helps you work on your projects or start new ones?
Feel free to share your insights in the comments! 🥰
You can also find this prompt in The Pencil on The Mighty here.
I’m excited to share that my friend and fellow NAMI-NYC Ending the Silence and In Our Own Voice co-presenter, Lady Charmaine Day, asked me to be on her podcast, Taboo Talk! In this episode I share my 21 pearls of wisdom on how to live a good life as well as my journey living in recovery. Feel free to check it out here or in the video below!
Have a second? Take this 3-step mindful moment with me!
When you come across this post, I invite you to take this 3-step mindful moment with me:
Step 1: Pause what you are doing and take three deep breaths. Count for two seconds as you inhale and two seconds as you exhale.
Step 2: Note how your body is feeling and what types of self-care you need to prioritize today.
Step 3: Set one positive intention or goal for the rest of your week.
Note: Feel free to share your notes, reflections, goals, and intentions in the comments below. 💌
Here are my notes and intentions:
Today, I definitely need to prioritize my emotional well-being and take a break from social media. I also want to take myself on a date, especially since I’ve been overthinking and having trouble sleeping.
My intention for the rest of the week is to show myself more love and do something that excites me.
You can also find this post here in The Pencil Case on TheMighty.com.
✨It’s our final day of affirmations! ✨
Here is what I’ve come up with for today:
I welcome positive change and transformation into my life. I am equipped to face any challenge that comes my way. I am grateful for what I’m learning and I’m ready to continue on my journey.
Reflection: I did it! I challenged myself to create, write, and reflect every day for 7 days. I’m so proud of myself for keeping at it. I feel a lot better than I did a week ago. I’m ready for what’s next and will keep doing my best 😇.
We’re at day 6! 🎉🪴
Today’s affirmations are as follows:
I am comfortable and confident in who I am. I radiate beauty and each day I choose myself, I become more powerful. I love and accept every part of me.
Reflection: Guess what, sparkly fam!? Someone approached me today and said I was extremely beautiful. That really made my day and inspired my affirmations for today 😁. I’ve made so much progress in loving myself more and now feel good when I receive a compliment from someone. I’m really proud of myself.
Day 5 is here! 🥰
The theme for today is self-care. My affirmations are:
I allow myself to rest and regain my energy. I know how to manage my time effectively. I prioritize self-care because it’s important to me and I deserve to feel good.
Reflection: How I think about self-care is evolving and changing every day. Self-care for me can include being kind to myself, doing something creative regularly, and setting daily personal goals. The more I get to know myself, the better my mind and body feel.
What does self-care look like for you?
It’s day 4 already! 🦋
Here are my affirmations:
I’m capable of achieving the goals I set for myself. My efforts help me to succeed. I embrace my power and believe in myself. I’m focused on what I know I can do.
Reflection: I remember the dreams I have every night. Some of those dreams don’t have much significance, while others I can tell are showing me something important.
A few days ago I had a dream of a silkworm (a first for me despite often having animal symbols in my dreams). The silkworm was following me not too far away. Although I was confused and a bit scared of it, it continued to linger going from its larvae state to flying toward me as a mature moth. Similar to a butterfly, a moth too represents the ongoing cycles of transformation and rebirth.
I’ve been on an ongoing wave of transitions for the past year and it’s taken a lot out of me. The stress and the uncertainty alone has caused my confidence to plummet. I choose right now though, to push forward and use the silkworm from my dream as a guide to not give up on myself or my goals. I may continue to be challenged, but I know my efforts will pay off.
Day 3️⃣ and counting!
Today’s affirmations are about me, money, and wealth. They are:
I am financially wealthy. Money flows to me effortlessly both in expected and unexpected ways. My prosperity is limitless. I am open to receiving all wealth life brings to me.
Reflection: *Takes deep breath*. Unfortunately, I experienced a panic episode today. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this amount of overwhelm, but I’ll be kind to myself as I gain my energy back. I was sitting in a meeting and remember getting a flood of negative thoughts, especially about money and security. The fear associated with wealth can stop me in my tracks and be challenging to gain confidence around. I want to get a better grasp at manifesting financial and other types of wealth and feel good about my skills, talents, and abilities. I know things will get better for me, I just have to be patient with myself. I’m ready to continue to move forward.
SparklyWarTanks 