Protect Your Magic

Last year, a woman Katy from Salt Lake City contacted me about a commission. She wanted a wolf painted for her beau & I was stoked because I had long loved these animals, but had never painted one. During the painting process, I busted out my old dog-eared, underlined copy of "Women Who Run With Wolves".

“The old one, the One Who Knows, is within us. She thrives in the deepest soul-psyche of women, the ancient and vital wild Self. Her home is that place in time where the spirit of women and the spirit of wolf meet- the place where the mind and instincts mingle, where a woman’s deep life funds her mundane life. It is the point where the I and the Thou kiss, the place where, in all spirit, women run with the wolves.”

“If you have yet to be called an incorrigible, defiant woman, don’t worry, there is still time.”

As I completed the painting, dubbed "Gray" by Katy, she let me know that things between her & the beau had changed. And she might be the one to keep the painting after all. "Who knows what will happen," she wrote me, "but my grandpa told me to protect my magic. And Gray is magic!!!"

Be. Still. My. Heart.

I have heard a lot of wisdom throughout my life, but a grandfather telling his wild, wolf-hearted granddaughter to "protect her magic" is among the best. And sweetest. And truest.

I cannot tell you the number of times of I have thought of this line (& shared it with other loved ones) since Katy shared it with me.

When I am in a situation that makes me feel small, shame-filled, unworthy, I will think to myself, "protect your magic." When I see a friend in a situation that makes them feel small, shame-filled, unworthy, I will tell them, "protect your magic."

And as it turns out, this line becomes 100x more powerful when I think of my grandfathers, who both passed away before I was born, whispering this in my ear from the great beyond.