The magical moment that Mystic by Colette was born, Nov 4th 1999
Today, November 4th, marks the 28th year of the birth of my beautiful daughter Theresa.
The number of blessings she has brought to my life are countless. Her confidence and determination inspire me and I know for a fact that this is something she does for so many others as well. Her vivacious energy and exuberance as well as spunk are apparent in everything she does. Her passion and zest for life are obvious in her athletic endeavors, competitive yet caring nature and her delightful sense of humor. No wonder she is held dear by so many. I know that I would be a very different person had she not become a part of my life so many years ago.
The moment I first saw her, the day she was born in 1987, I knew my life was going to change as for the first time in my life I became completely aware of how deeply important I could be to an individual… I was now a mother and joy filled my heart as well as the sense that a great adventure was beginning for both of us.
When asked to focus on a happy moment in meditation or at other times that awareness of unlimited joy is required, this is the moment that more often than not comes to my mind. Of course there are many other moments I can also list, as I would not truly want to leave my son out of the equation, however this day of November 4th does indeed mark a prominent remembering of transformation towards positive shifts in my life.
Theresa is also the reason Mystic came to be and hence why this date is doubly special for me.
Shortly before her 12th birthday, I was planning Theresa’s annual birthday portrait and was inspired by her directly for what the theme would be.
Walls and Falls International photographic competition ~ honorable mention for Into The Mystic
While observing the delicate changes in my young daughter as she transformed, before my very eyes almost, from child to adolescent, I found myself comparing this stage in her life to my perception of what a faerie would be like should I be given the blessing of encountering one. This propelled me into creating wings for her and designing a costume that would turn her temporarily into a woodland sprite for her annual portrait.
The session generated several treasured images for me two of which still feature prominently in my development as a photographic artist as well as the seeds which put me on the path to eventually create Mystic by Colette.
The whole Mystic by Colette tale is too long to tell here and would take away from the focus on this anniversary story so I will save this for another time. Suffice it to say that Mystic by Colette finds its roots in the images captured of my beautiful daughter sixteen years ago today.
“Into the Mystic”, named after my favorite Van Morrison song and portraying Theresa as a faerie stepping into her reflection in a pond, won me national and international recognition and awards and inspired a whole series of new Mystic style portraits. This success in competition gained me some news coverage in my community as well and helped bolster my confidence at the time to explore this style of creative sessions for clients and artistic images. The later of these I used to create greeting cards and calendars that sold in some boutiques and stores in 2002 through 2005.
Another image from this session became the obvious choice for me to feature on the I am Peace card in the Mystic Bliss Empowerment Cards deck when I revived the Mystic series in 2012 to create the deck.
When I began to ponder what my blog for Creativity Coach would be this week I could not help but make this story my first choice and focus. My inspiration and creativity indeed comes directly from the people in my life as noted by the example above. I felt that, since my traditional blog post for this week happened to fall on the date of birth for my special creative muse, a retelling of this would serve to inspire you my dear readers to consider the positive impact that people in your lives have had you you and your choices.
This has likely simply gone unnoticed, and influences through others unrecognized, in many cases till now for many of you.
In conclusion to this post I wish to pose a few questions to get you thinking:
What special memory about certain people, or what someone dear to you has said, stands out for you?
Can you note, when looking back and reflecting on it, how this may have shaped you and your creative expression over the years?
If you were to write about, or otherwise express, this unfolding awareness of positive influences… what would it evolve to be? What would it look like? What could this seed germinate?
Today I celebrate the planting of the seed to be someone to look up to and inspire because seeing the glowing and lovely face of my new born daughter 28 years ago made me want to create a loving and supportive environment filled with encouragement and nurturing for her.
Be light and shine
Happy Birthday Theresa, I love you Baby Girl Mesdag
Colette
