If there’s one thing that I’ve learned about the Sonoma County over the past two years is that we will always rise above adversity and go on.  You could say, I’ve become accustomed to the practice and have turned it into an art.  In this post, I offer you Resilience is an Art, my personal guide to happiness through a creative lens.

Rise above adversity.

Believe in yourself as well as something larger than yourself. Adversity does not have to define you. Move beyond, transcend pain and grief of a temporary moment.

Sending artwork to clients around the world is not new thing for me. However, over the past few months, I’ve struggled in sending an ArtDoor commission unscathed.  I’ve attempted two times to send the ArtDoor and have gone through great lengths to properly pack and secure the work.  Each time the ArtDoor arrived damaged.  After the second time, I emotionally struggled with the challenge.  At one point, I was going to go on a road trip to personally deliver the ArtDoor.  I’ve decided the third try will be the charm. The moral of the story is to feel upset, come to a place of neutral observation…then rebuild.

Survive with scars.

Together we struggle but function.  Resilience is not about escaping unharmed – we are scarred from the experience.

You could say, the ArtDoor survives with scars.  While the ArtDoor has been repaired twice, the scars remain just underneath the surface, invisible to the eye..and is now part of the work.

Rebound together.

With a little help from our friends and the community, we cultivate insight and take charge of our challenges.  Together we foster resilience.

Over the past few months, my neighborhood has come together to develop a disaster preparedness team, also known as COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies). I’m pleased to report we have an emergency response plan that works in concert with the local authorities. We understand that response teams may not be readily available when disaster strikes and have developed precautionary measures.  There is no doubt we are taking comfort in each other.  This section would be remiss in not recognizing how much I’ve come to really cherish the companionship of Gracie and Isabella.

Shift toward happiness.

Move away from cup half empty to cup half full. We may be scarred but we move toward happiness.

Let’s face it, life can be challenging. We make a choice on how we live it.  I chose happiness.