‘i stood alone by the water and ached for you’ copyright tania palermo
I take a 24-hour respite from the news but continue to hear of more devastation, loss, grief, anger, confusion. The stories reach me in many ways and play over and over in the back of my mind as I meet a friend for coffee; do the grocery shopping; fold the laundry.
I’ve been trying to write all day and the words will just not come. Or, they will come, full of angst and wanting to start a fight. A friend sends a video of her walk outdoors and tells me the rivers and trees are calling out for me to come walk there too, with her. We’ve been talking a lot about community and connection lately. The one giant rock that looks more like a small boulder does grumble lowly as she walks past, and tells me – it is angsty too – which makes me trust it immediately.
Painting would help, but I cleaned the kitchen yesterday, (my makeshift studio), and need to let it have at least one day of rest before messing it up again. The table has lost its fight and is decorated with splotches of many colors but the floor still has hope it will survive the creativity without needing to be scraped and refinished.
sold to private collection copyright tania palermo
It makes me feel small, the not knowing what to do. Or how to hold onto hope in the face of the suffering I see. Or wanting to make things change but feeling powerless to do so.
I scroll through old photos to distract myself and listen to music and keep breathing and know that I AM small and cannot do much for the far away friend who asks me to pray for her daughter, other than to witness her and acknowledge her worry and pray for her daughter and decide, again, that I will do just that, over and over. Not close my eyes. Witness and acknowledge and offer kindnesses and hold doors open and share the bread I make and sit at the doctors’ offices and watch the friends’ dog so they can escape and recharge, and maybe all these little things will matter. Maybe trickles of light will seep in, grow, and start to take up more space than the grief and despair and the feelings of rage at the injustices done. Maybe any action is better than no action and even though we feel small and powerless we can make a difference. And maybe to believe otherwise gives the ‘darkness’ power it does not deserve.
Today. Cloudy & cool. My favorite to hike in. Years taking photographs, seeking saturated colors & interesting skies, living in the PNW, have converted me to favoring an overcast day. Conversation with a friend. She’s experimenting with her diet. No dairy, sugar, gluten, grains. A disordered part of me wants to join her. I’ve weighed myself recently & saw the highest numbers of my life. My body continues to change & get bigger despite feeding it vegetables, taking it on walks, joining fitness challenges. Another friend texts to say she loves IF. I told her about it & no longer practice. A strong impulsive desire to join her too. The tracking app is still on my phone. A lifetime spent practicing disordered eating. Years in undiagnosed orthorexia. My mental health would suffer if I tried again. Another friend texts to say she hasn’t lost weight post a serious surgery & wants to use my fitness pal to track her food. I feel tired for her. We’ve spent too much time focusing on numbers. Cosmetic outcomes. Too little taking care of our bodies in weight neutral ways. Moving for the sheer pleasure of it. The afternoon is spent searching for the file with the spreadsheets from 8 years ago when I kept track of everything my body was doing. That year I moved towards a plant-based diet. I required myself to walk, jog or hike a minimum of 5 miles every morning. Just to earn the right to exist in my body. An entire year: no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, anything processed. I ran races, lifted weights, felt strong – but isolated, full of anxiety that one chocolate chip would throw me completely off track. Many compliments on my outer appearance, but rarely felt internal peace. I came across random photos while searching for the ‘body file’ & sent one to a friend because she looks glowy & happy. She replies “you are stunning.” I say “we were both beautiful & had NO IDEA.” She says “well, I knew you were, but you never believed me.” I feel tired again: for the stories we believe about ourselves, the missed moments, the constant chasing of ‘life will be better when,’ the not realizing we are lucky just to be alive. And the not believing that we are enough. Just as we are. Right now.
***Note – this was originally written for Instagram and therefore could only have 2200 total characters. I’ve left it that way for consistency, though I know it would benefit from paragraphs and better wording. I wrote it raw and left it that way. ♥***
The random found photo that I sent to a friend.A dress I loved but wouldn’t buy during the 5 mile a day time because I thought I needed to be smaller to splurge on it.Only fruits and veggies were allowed in my fridge.I spent a ton of time food prepping. It became tedious – but it was always so vibrant looking. The colors made me happy.
I’m not much of a selfie person … but every once in a while I’ll throw one up so you know who you’re interacting with. I know when I’m making a decision on whether or not to do business with someone, I like to know something about who I’m supporting … especially with a profession like massage therapy.
This morning I started a Summer Training Camp. It’s a supportive online community with women of all body shapes and sizes where we’ll spend 12 weeks either prepping for anything from a 5K to a half marathon or doing a weight lifting program. I choose both 😳🏋️♀️🏃♀️. I’ll probably stick to walking … but the encouragement of the program may get me to run (ahem…slow jog) again. We’ll see.
Either way that’s not really the point. It’s about finding joyful movement…whatever that means to you…in whatever body you’re living in right now …without intent to change it – just to enjoy and care for it. :)
Anyways … they asked for us each to post a pic so we can get to know one another … and that’s why I even have a pic to share here…
Anyone local want to sign up too? They’re leaving it open for the rest of today. It would be fun to have in person community along with the online one. 😊 In fact I’ve been wanting to start a walking group for those of us who move SLOW for a while. I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested.
Some photos of the Black Lives Matter protest in Manchester, CT today. It was a peaceful and beautiful event with inspiring speakers of all ages. I’ve been thinking about ways I can continue to use my voice to be an ally – and I know that art of any kind is a powerful medium to communicate through. If I can use photography to help give anyone a voice who wants to also be an ally to the black community, and create positive change – please reach out to me and we’ll figure out a way to stand together. I’ve been musing an idea for an art project on my own – but I’d like to hear what’s needed rather than just what I think might be a good idea. ♥
I’ve been talking with fellow small business owner friends about ways to offer our services online. A lot of people I know sell products, so they can keep doing that via Etsy or their websites. Yoga studios are recording their classes and sharing them on YouTube … I’ve been so grateful for this!
While I can’t give you a massage online … we CAN keep talking about self care. It is especially vital right now to take mini breaks from any stress you may be experiencing.
What’s an activity that you find restorative? I love the combination of spending time in nature with photography. It calms me right down. Look for the light. Focus on any hope you can find. Acknowledge all that IS working, all the good that IS showing up. Stay in the moment and know that RIGHT NOW you do have everything you need.
Do you have any gently used handbags lying around that you no longer use? Well, it is time to re-purpose them….with heart!
My friends Gina & Alex started “THE POCKETBOOK REVOLUTION” to gift women in need in the greater Hartford area. Taryn W. and I are jumping on board to support their mission and will be accepting donations for the greater Manchester area here in the studio.
We are collecting gently used handbags along with women’s hygiene supplies to directly benefit women in need. We will putting all the bags together on December 19th and donating them to four different women’s shelters in Manchester.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Donate and/or collect handbags and supplies such as:
Tampons, pads, soaps, shower gels, socks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, baby powder, mini-first aid kits, shampoo, conditioner, etc. Imagine if you were starting your life over with potentially nothing but the shirt on your back. Gift whatever items you think you might need … or want.
Drop these items off at the studio at 264 Main Street in Manchester ANY TIME BEFORE December 19th.If the shop is closed just leave items in the space provided on the front porch.
Thank you in advance for your compassionate generosity!
Tania Palermo [Studio on Main] 