The Revolutionary Art of Well-Being
Well-being is an active practice of self-relationship, choice, and care. It is a Revolutionary Act.
How and where we direct our attention shapes our experience of ourselves, others, and the world. We can be our own greatest resource—how we tend to ourselves directly impacts our capacity to engage with the world. Creative practices—whether painting, writing, sculpting, singing or dancing—activate and strengthen neural pathways in ways that enhance flexibility, adaptability, and resilience.
Attention as Power: Who and What We Listen to Shapes Our Reality
Like many others with direct experience of ADHD, the influence I wield over my attention can feel tentative. From birth through age 35, I received little to no guidance on how to take charge of this powerful tool. And even if I had, my nervous system was too preoccupied with scanning for danger to absorb it. Vigilance became my default, reinforcing a pattern—a habit of mind. A habit of mind is a habit of the nervous system.
The good news? Habits can shift. They can be altered. They can be transformed. Seeing, noticing, and reframing is an act of transformation. This is part of the process of creating an understanding of one's experience that activates neuroplasticity. Paying kind attention becomes the act of cultivating a more loving relationship with the Self.
Cultivating a more loving relationship with the Self is a revolutionary act in a culture that tries to define individuals based on gender, role, race, income, education, sexual orientation or identity—by everything except our essential nature. True self-understanding can not exist in isolation. It takes a certain amount of bravery to decide for yourself who you are, based not upon societal framework, but by honoring your deepest potential as a human being. Yet, we must acknowledge that we are part of a larger system. There is an art to knowing ourselves through the lens of interconnectedness—to recognizing that we are both individual and deeply woven into the fabric of the world around us. To honor our true Self is not to reject the system we live within but to move through it with clarity, integrity, and responsibility. We do not exist apart from others, nor apart from the Earth beneath our feet. Our identity is personal, but our choices ripple outward, shaping the communities we belong to and the land that we are stewards of.
Focus on Creativity: Self-reflection leads to Self-understanding and a Sense of Belonging
Reclaiming your focus through creativity is a glorious, restorative practice—for both your nervous system and your sense of self. Creative projects can serve as a rudder for those who feel adrift, offering a tangible way to anchor attention and reconnect with inner direction. Right now, I’m taking a deeply enriching class with Coeleen Kiebert, a remarkable artist and Jungian analyst, called Art & Soul. Coeleen has developed a unique creative process that uses personal collage as a portal—both for self-exploration and as the foundation for a larger body of creative work. What I love about this approach is that it requires no formal artistic training. You don’t have to be an artist to engage—you just need curiosity and a willingness to listen to and reflect on what emerges.
Well-being is not something we find—it is something we cultivate, again and again. It is an active practice of self-relationship, choice, and care, a revolutionary act in a world that often pulls us away from ourselves.
Where we place our attention, the stories we tell ourselves, and the ways we engage with our own creative energy all shape our experience of life. When we choose to direct our focus with intention, we shift not only our internal landscape but also the way we move through the world. Creativity, in any form, offers us a way back to ourselves—a way to process, reframe, and reclaim.
Through self-reflection, we cultivate self-understanding. Through self-understanding, we build a deeper sense of belonging—not just within ourselves, but within the vast interconnected web of life. Tending to our nervous system, honoring our own creative impulses, and seeing ourselves as both individual and woven into the whole—this is the art of being well.
So the invitation is simple: Notice. Create. Reimagine. Choose. Let the act of paying attention be a gift you offer yourself, one that ripples outward in ways you may not yet see.
How do you consciously direct your attention in a way that nourishes you? I’d love to hear—what practices help you feel anchored, creative, and connected?
