Self Transformation
JOURNALS AND NOTEBOOKS
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I don't believe in pure coincidence. I may have, at some point in my life, but the more life I've experienced, and the deeper I've observed my experiences, the more impossible it's become to believe that things just randomly happen at random times, for no particular reason.
And I'm not talking about every single moment of our lives - though, who knows?! - but I'm talking about the things that really stand out — big and small — things that really catch your attention.
Because of this belief, when I was bitten by a rattlesnake in 2020, I knew that I was in for a major transformation. Snakes regularly shed their skin - they are the ultimate symbol of transformation, so I knew it was coming, but I had absolutely no idea what to expect.
A year later, literally exactly a year from the day I was bitten by a rattlesnake, June 15, I had to be out of my Colorado cabin, then I sold a condo I owned in CA, then I moved to WNC, and in my time here I've shed old patterns, habits and relationships, and I lost both of my dogs. Baby Frida passed away in August of 2023, and Little Maggie died this past May - two days after our 16 year anniversary.
I learned so much from each place, pattern, habit and relationship that I released — even and I should say most especially, the most challenging relationships, which are always our greatest teachers. And because I was done learning from those places, things, people and pets, it was time for us to part. Although I learned more than just this, the greatest thing I received from all of those experiences and interactions was a deeper understanding of myself.
Everything and everyone that I released was tied to an old, outdated version of me — a person that I was programmed to be from a very young age. Even the patterns that my dogs adopted from me, came from that old, outdated version of Kristen.
I think so few of us are truly representing who we are inside. We’ve been raised, trained, coached, bullied, and or shamed into changing or hiding so much about ourselves. But I don’t believe our uniqueness was meant to be hidden or altered, just so we can “fit in.”
So many of us have also adopted behaviors as survival strategies that may have supported us at one point in our lives, but may be dragging us down, in adulthood - like people pleasing, for example, which was a major issue for me.
I feel very strongly that the greatest and most important purpose of my life is to shed all of these outdated versions of myself, to get closer and closer to the truest version of me. But like a snake never stops shedding its skin, I believe I’ll continue to do the same for the rest of my life.
Hi, I’m Kristen!
I envision a world where you and I rediscover what it is to be human, through connection with ourselves, each other and the natural world around us.