Kelly Rae Roberts's Blog, page 33

Sending out some love.

(Signed/matted prints available here)
I'm not going to lie. It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. My heart has been working really hard to let itself break when another piece of me wants to keep on truckin. It takes a lot of courage to let ourselves feel the pain of any given heartbreak, of any given misfortune. I'm trying to be courageous. I feel fortunate to have John and True as beacons of light.

Lacy posted this manifesto today over on our Facebook page and it it caught me by surprise to see my words reflected back at me at a time when I really need them. I read each and every line, slowly, taking in the truths, one inhale and exhale at a time. I'm certain I must have written this manifesto as a premonition to what I'd need at this exact moment, months later.

While getting my Masters in Social Work all those years ago they used to tell us that we should never tell someone it's going to be okay, and I suppose that's actually quite true. We don't actually know if it's going to be okay for someone else and we shouldn't give misguided hope. But, I don't know, sometimes my heart really needs to hear the concreteness of it's going to be okay, you are going to be okay, your spirit will be okay, and you're going to survive. 

And while all that assurance is happening, I'd also love to hear that I can surrender my fear and I'll still be okay. That I can embrace the uncertainty. And that I'll still be okay. That I can completely fall apart and take my time and feel the circling of darkness. That I can feel sorry for myself and perhaps have an all out crisis of faith. And even then, I'll still be okay. And then I'd really like to hear that through it all, one day, I'll emerge softer, wiser, more beauty-full.

Because even in the dark I know this to be true: Eventually Hope rises up to meet us. It cracks open our hearts to the light within ourselves waiting to be seen, to be born again.

I'm going to be okay. And for those of you struggling, you're spirit is going to be okay, too.

Why slacking off is beautiful

New signed/matted print available here
I've been super sick the last many days with a nasty virus. True has it too, poor little guy. There's nothing like being sick to lift the vail on all the silver linings that come with spending a lot of time in bed, needing to ask for lots of help, and wishing upon wishing that you had the energy to play with and care for your toddler.

A couple familiar aha's hit me while spending all that time resting and recouping. The biggest? The frustrating knowing that we're moving to fast. Between work, and play dates, and dinners, and staying connected to our friends and family, and and and.....we're over extending.

A big part of my soul work this year has been to challenge myself to do less. A good friend of mine always tells me that what I consider "slacking off" is likely a normal, healthy load. So I've been practicing "slacking off" all year. Lots of saying no. Lots of resisting the urge to produce, produce, produce. Lots of practicing the "I won't be forgotten if I take a break" mantra. Lots of contemplation and healing work around perfectionism/worthiness/boundaries. Lots of trusting and breathing and allowing and awakening.

What I've learned so far in my year of "slacking off" is that there is breath. There is beauty. There is a whole lot of trusting the process. And there's an enormous amount of loving my heart out. There's a certain kind of self love I'm learning, too. Turns out it takes a lot of self compassion to give yourself permission to stop over doing it.

And so friends, I wish for you the same sweet surrender: Breath, Beauty, Trust, and Love.

XO,
Kelly Rae

Some thoughts on success. And a celebration of The Declaration Of You.

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Hi friends,
Super excited to be a part of the blog lovin' tour for the new book, The Declaration Of You. Isn't that the best title ever? It's written my two of my friends, Jessica + Michelle - both adorable, smart, talented and insightful.

They had their book launch party a couple of days ago right here in Portland and it was full of excited friends and supporters. It was a total joy to be there and witness the launch/birth of a beautiful book!


What I love about this book is that they give readers all the permission they've craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do!I'm thrilled to be included as a contributor to the chapter all about success. 

For this blog lovin' tour, Jess and Michelle sent me a few Q's to answer about my thoughts on success. Below are my answers! 

What do you believe the main factors of success to be?

Recently I heard my friend Lacy give the best definition of success I'd ever heard. She simply asked, "Do you feel like your contribution is meaningful?" If the answer is yes, then you're successful. Ahhhhh. LOVE LOVE LOVE that interpretation. I think we get too caught up in chasing commercial/financial success which is often times other-esteemed or externally validating, but if we can spin it back to ourselves (self-esteemed, internally validating) and define whether or not we're successful based on whether or not we think our contribution is meaningful, well, that makes my heart swoon.

Does success look differently to you as an adult than it did when you were a child? How so?
Yes, I was certain that success meant falling in line: graduating from highschool, going to college, getting a job, and paying my bills. It took quitting my job, taking giant leaps into uncertainty as I became a working artist in my 30s, and all the many lessons learned along the way, to realize that true success is going inward, discovering what is calling you, and bravely choosing, one small step at at time, to answer the call. Nothing is more brave or affirming or successful as following one's heart and purpose.

What part of your life right now doesn’t feel successful to you? 

Hmmm, strangely enough I think I'm in a weird, complicated space of reconciling for myself what it means to have more visibility. The more visibility I have in my business, the more cautious and careful I become. The more careful I become, the less impact my work has on myself and my audience. This is a tricky tricky piece about "commercial success" that not many people are talking about it. I haven't figured it out yet - how to maintain a certain kind of vulnerability (that helped me launch in the first place!) as I continue to grow and become more visible. I'm working through this :)

What part of your life does feel successful to you right now?

Honestly, I'm feeling mighty proud of creating and building a rock solid support system around myself. This has taken years to achieve. Gone are the days of forging ahead alone, like a lone wolf or warrior. Gone are the days of holding it all together. Of insisting I do it by myself. In the last many months I've made some moves that have included having a husband who took the leap to become a stay at home parent, hiring a full time kick ass employee, moving into a studio space with three other artists, and getting together on a regular basis with my mama friends in my neighborhood. I have never felt more held, supported, and inside a village of people who understand. It was a huge personal success for me to break down the pieces of myself that insisted on doing it alone.

What’s your personal declaration around success?

I recently heard someone say that we're aren't our failures, but we're also not our successes. I could not agree more. For me, I try very hard not define my worth around my perceived, outward success. Am I making a meaningful contribution? Am I being brave in my choices? Am I holding onto my integrity and authenticity ever step of the way? If the answer is yes, I'm on the right track :)

Welcome July Sponsors!

Happy holiday weekend everyone! 

I'd like to offer a warm welcome to my  July sponsors. They'll be participating in our giant giveaway later this month (giving away awesome stuff), but I wanted to give them a warm shout out this week. Besides, I’m an artist & writer today, but I’m pretty sure I was a professional matchmaker, in another life. I LOVE connecting my readers with uplifting & inspiring businesses that share my Possibilitarian mission.

They are:
* The Harnessing Happiness Foundation  which offers many services, including parenting guides, tools, and card decks that help us teach and grow emotional awareness
*Lilla Rogers' Make Art That Sells online course from the Lilla Rogers Studio School. Learn how to make art that sells, directly from someone who has sold art for products worth over $100 million!
* The Renaissance Woman's Toolbox: How to Live Happy When You Love So Many Things! A 7-Week Live, Experiential eCourse & Book Study Group for Multi-Passionate Explorers Everywhere
* Catherine Just's An Invitation to The Deepening.  Be part of the world-premiere of this {new} online experience, and decide to deepen … everything.
* Superhero Life with Andrea Scher. You've got powers. You've got talents. You've got a story - and it's about time you shared it. 
* Curly Girl Design - fabulous products for imperfectly delightful living. 
* Health coach Lacy Young : If I had a super power I’d rid the world of fake foods + banish self-loathing! We’d all eat more fruits + veggies and love our beautiful capable bodies.
Thank you July sponsors!
PS: Want to reach thousands upon thousands of fellow Possibilitarians with your business message — every month? Yes-oh-yes? Please-oh-please? Become a Sponsor — all the details are right over here.

Happy 4th!

Just a quick post to say Happy 4th. Have a great holiday weekend. We'll be celebrating over here with sparklers, gratitude for our county, and a grill out with our family!
Here's a sweet video of True singing This Land Is Your Land (one of my fave songs, ever) a couple of weeks ago! 

True's first "real" haircut!

(First haircut, before and after. He looks so grown up - bittersweet! Almost 3 yrs old.)

You guys, I am having some serious mama pride at the moment. I figured out how to cut True's hair. I have to share it with you as I'm certain I'm not the only mama of a toddler boy who just isn't thrilled about going to the barber shop (we've tried, a few times,  and the little guy won't budge and we don't have the heart to push him).
SO, I you tubed "how to cut toddler boy hair" and this video popped up showing how to cut with clippers.  Then, I watched this video showing how to cut with scissors. I ran out, bought the Wahl clippers and then went to work using both the clippers for most of the cutting and then the scissors for the top of his head. The entire thing took about 15 minutes. It was tear free (for all involved) and True watched an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba while I went to work. Easy! 
There are so many (so many) moments of defeat when it comes to motherhood, that when a big triumph comes along like this one, it feels, well it feels incredibly joyous.
Here are some pics showing the process:

Store Locator! Yee-haw!

You guys! You've been asking for this for ages and I'm so excited to announce that we FINALLY have a store locator on our website. But not just any store locator. This store locator highlights stores in your area that have invested in carrying a significant amount of my gift, fashion, and home decor products with Demdaco. There's nothing worst than driving to a store only to find that they carry a tiny sampling of products. That won't happen with this store locator. Promise!
Head on over here and get started! 
Woo to the too :)

Link Love!

Hey friends,
I thought I'd send out a little link love for your exploring, wandering fun!
Recently spent a few hours with my old friend Dani. Love how the work she's doing these days is so incredibly valuable to what I need as a mom when it comes to teaching emotional awareness. 
I've fallen head over heals in love with all things TotallyRad, including their iphone app PicTapGo and their Photoshop Actions. Yes to the yes to the yes!

I had the pleasure of talking on the phone with for an entire hour with one of my heroes. I consider her the grandmother of creative truth-tellers and I loved our conversation immensely. Grateful. 
Also recently spent a few hours with my old friend Liz and got caught up on all the goodness she's sharing with the world. 
Major blog crush. Loving her honesty about what the creative process looks like (for real) and all of her super informative posts like this one. 
Loving the trailer to Jen Lee's Indie Kindred and can't wait to see the full movie soon.

A friend recently told me about Luvocracy. Have you guys heard of it? I'm intrigued.

Any recently link love inspiration you want to share? Please do! 

Soul Shine Studio Open House. You're invited!

Friends, the dream is so happening. Soul Shine Studio is born! My new studio mates (Flora Bowley, Lynzee Lynx, + Pixie Campbell) and I are all moved in. We are loving the studio and we have big plans for the space to inspire and awaken. Pinch me, please? Awakening Creativity * Igniting Community * Radiating Possibility

We're having an open house coming up on Friday, July 5th. You're all invited! Stop by, friends! All the details above on the invite:)

Here's a little sneak peek at the space - I'll give you a more proper photo tour soon! 



SEE YOU THERE! xxo

on listening, allowing, awakening

New piece. The signed/matted print is available here.

"I have met brave women who are exploring the outer edge of human possibility, with no history to guide them, and with a courage to make themselves vulnerable that I find moving beyond words." - Gloria Steinem
Inspired by my recent adventure to Bali, I keep thinking about all the ways we bravely intuitively listen - over and over again - to our bodies. To the little nudges on our hearts. To the whispers that are calling us. We're sort of expert intuitive listeners, no? I think the real magic happens when we not only listen, but when we allow whatever it is that may be nudging at our sleeves to transform our lives. I can't think of a better intersection of when we're our bravest and our most vulnerable - a place from which we can create, and make, and begin, and discover our own limitlessness. I seem to get this lesson over and over again. 
Thanks you, Bali. You taught me the power of leaning in. And how the second we allow ourselves to indulge the whispers, our entire lives wake up. I want to always listen, allow, and awaken.  
To those of you who have a longing, an intuitive pull toward something - a trip, a conversation, a letting go, an inviting in - whatever it may be, I can't encourage you enough to consider it an important whisper. It's your life calling you. Listen and allow. Listen and allow. And then awaken.