Art for Healing (no talent required)

Hi friend,

I lost a few days this week, and I'm not sorry about it.

Focus on flow music. Coffee going cold next to me. I was building the webpage for the DTD Collective, and I fell all the way in. Picking colors. Swapping images. Moving one line of text up, then down, then back up again. Making decisions. Learning, learning, learning. Making something out of nothing and making it mine.

I looked up at one point and thought, "Oh, this is art."

Nobody handed me a template. I used my human design, my gut, and a (newfound!) stubborn refusal to ask anyone's permission. And once I was in it, inspiration was everywhere. Reminders from my past. Words that made sense to me years ago and suddenly made sense again. Things I'd saved in my notes app for I-didn't-know-what reason, until they landed on the page and I knew exactly what reason. Synchronicities all over the place, the way they always are when I'm actually paying attention.

It was healing all the way through, and when I finally closed the laptop, I was proud. Not "good enough," proud. Best-version-of-me proud.

That's our theme this week: art for healing.

Here's the thing I keep relearning. When I was drinking, I wasn't reaching for wine because I loved wine. I was reaching for it because I had a feeling I didn't know what to do with, and a glass gave my hands something to hold. Art does the same job without the hangover. A pen, a brush, a lump of clay, a camera on a walk. Something to hold. Something to do with the feeling besides swallowing it.

Wine was the coping tool, not the problem. The problem was I only had one tool.

Nobody needs to be "an artist" to do this. Nobody is grading you. You can doodle in the margins of your grocery list, and it counts. This week I'm inviting you to make one ugly thing. Just one. Notice what happens in your body while you do it.

Art for Healing with Tammi Salas—it's live in Insider now. Tammi Salas is a lovely human, and she's our guest expert this week. Her Art for Healing workshop already dropped inside Insider, so you can watch it today on your own time. Then save the date: Thursday 2 pm CST. We're getting together live inside the Insider community to talk about it, share what we made, and dig into the walking meditation. I offered this week (a color walk, a notice walk, an art walk—you'll see what I mean). JOIN HERE (first week free)

The live class is for Insider members only, but here's the thing: your first week is free. Join today, watch Tammi's workshop tonight, and be on the call Thursday. Come make something with us.

Founding members are open: the DTD Collective This one's for the coaches.

I named the collective Dare to Dream after a journal I made when I was a kid, because that's what building a business actually is. It's a creative act. You start with a blank page and a feeling, and you make something that didn't exist before. Nobody tells you that part. They tell you about funnels.

I've mentored 50+ coaches, and the thing I hear most is "I have no idea what I'm doing and no one to ask." In the collective, you can ask. Doors open in October, and founding member applications are open right now for the men and women who want to build and create with me. Check it out HERE.

One queen bunk left at the fall retreat We filled up at 12, and then more of you wanted in, so we did what any inclusive hosts would do: we added the cute boathouse. That means there is now exactly one spot left, a queen bunk room. Fall foliage hike, a lake, kayaks, a fire, good food, real rest, and a room full of women who get it. If your gut says, "That's mine," it probably is. Grab the last spot HERE.

Already booked? Our first prep call is Monday, September 15, at 6:00 PM Central on Zoom. Rides, the agenda, what to pack, and meeting each other. Watch your inbox for the link, and please fill out your questionnaire before then.

New on the blog: If You Drank Last Night. You had a drink. Or three. Now what? Not a guilt trip, not a lecture. Just 25 things you can actually do in the morning to get back to yourself fast. Self-compassion first, honesty second, then movement. Read it HERE.

So here's my question for you this week: what would you make if nobody was going to see it?

Go make it. Then tell me about it. Hit reply, I read everyone.

XO, 

Heather

P.S. If you're reading this thinking "I need more than a paintbrush," that's what a discovery call is for. SCHEDULE HERE. The door's open!