The Light Within . . .

Lately, I’ve been feeling the weight of the current political climate in my body as much as in my mind. The noise, the fear, the sense of things unraveling can be overwhelming. When the world feels unsteady, I find myself turning inward, not to escape, but to remember where my strength has always come from. I’ve learned that in dark times, I can’t just wait for the light. The light is something I carry within.

I remember my brave younger self protesting in the 1960s, against the Vietnam War, for civil rights and equality for women and girls. I believed that collective action and inner conviction could change the world. Those years were not easy or safe, but they were alive with purpose. I was scared and hopeful at the same time. I didn’t know how things would turn out, but I knew what mattered. Remembering that helps me now. I’ve lived through times of upheaval before. We have all lived through times of upheaval before. 

As a therapist, much of my work has been about helping women reconnect with their own inner strength. The part of themselves that knows, even when everything feels uncertain, that they are resilient, capable, and worthy. I’ve witnessed again and again how powerful it is when a woman claims her own light, especially after it’s been dimmed by fear, trauma, or oppression. That light doesn’t disappear; it waits to be remembered. 

My art comes from this same place. It’s about what lies beneath the layers and what endures. In moments like these, I remind myself that resistance doesn’t always look loud. Sometimes it looks like staying present, holding hope, caring for one another, and refusing to forget what we’ve already survived. Turning inward is not giving up. It’s gathering strength. And from that place, we carry on.