Sisterhood has been ever-present in my life.
From an early age, I intuitively knew that, in order for me to feel trust and connection within myself, I needed to be in the presence of women who I could be my authentic self with. This need was fulfilled in a variety of ways like participating in Girl Scouts, having good girlfriends who I could have sleepovers with, and later in college through participation in a sorority.
Looking back at those years, I can see how I had an unconscious knowing that, when women come together, the mysteries of life and feminine flow can be unlocked.
When you add in a dose of creativity and working with your hands into the experience of sisterhood, magic really happens.
I see it at my Creative Day Retreats I host in my home and in wine country. The women show up not entirely knowing why – they just feel a pull in their heart to gather with other women and create beautiful things with their hands together. The experience is deeply feminine – one they have been yearning so deeply for in this modern day world of rushing and doing and tapping away on technology.
When they first arrive, they are a bit shy and quiet. But give them 5 minutes with some fresh flowers, wire, and floral tape, and the energy of the room completely shifts. The women are giggling, recalling sweet memories from their childhood, sharing tough experiences, and delighting at each other’s flower crown creations.
Sisterhood is magic.
Historically as a species, human survival has been rooted in coming together in community.
The women in our lineage cooked in a communal kitchen together, helped birth and raise each other’s children, healed each other’s wounds, nursed illnesses, and held each other up through life’s struggles and celebrations. They would commune together during their moon time as a sacred act of sisterhood. They sat at the same table to teach each other how to heal, how to thrive and how to celebrate. It was simply how the tribe could survive.
As years have passed, western civilization has developed and we’ve seen the rise of the technology revolution, leading to us women finding ourselves in the unnatural state of being isolated from one another.
We live in our own individual homes, cooking our own meals and raising our children by ourselves. What was once a safe place to share our full expression of ourselves has morphed into silent suffering and feelings of isolation for so many (who often don’t feel like they can admit it for fear of being judged for not being able to handle it).
We fear not “doing it right” so we find ourselves judging each other. Judging the way we parent, what foods we eat, how we dress, the way our bodies look, and how much money we make. So much of our own fears, anxieties, and bouts with depression come from a feeling of disconnection with our own hearts and the greater collective of women everywhere.
We have lost the art of communing as women – a vital component of living.
This is why I am so passionate about bringing women back together to create beautiful things and find their creativity again. Because I truly believe that we can remember this art of communing as women when we work with our hands.
I believe this is why we love to plan events like baby showers, birthday parties, and wedding celebrations. Because when we get to arrange flowers and decorate onesies for and with each other, we are feeling the whispers of our ancestors who once sat at the table together creating for and healing one another.
Some of us are lucky enough to have grown up with mothers or grandmothers who held on to the traditions of creative sisterhood. They had sewing circles, arranged homemade food deliveries for sick families, had canning parties in late summer, and holiday cookie decorating parties each December.
Are you someone who craves deeper connection with girlfriends?
Channel the wisdom of your great great grandmothers by coming back to the table with other women and work with your hands together. When you come into a space of creative sisterhood, all that judgemental insecurity melts away and you are left with delight, wonder, and connection. It feels so much better than binge drinking a bottle of wine and talking crap at the TV as a form of “girls night.”
Creative sisterhood is nourishing for the mind, body, and soul.
If you want to take action and create a shift around your relationship with other women and creativity, check out this Home Spa & Self Care Party Guide I made you. It includes easy home spa recipes and my personal guide to hosting a night of creativity and true sisterhood – from the way you invite to suggested food and beverage pairings to how to cultivate deeper conversations in the moment.
When women come together to create with their hands, amazing things happen. Fears and doubts melt away into a wise and playful energy that only creative women can create together.
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Thanks for reading! This is the second post in a 4-part blog series on how creativity heals and inspires us busy, ambitious women.
You can read the first post here: What Busy Women Ought to Know About Creativity & Stress
You can read the third post here: The Secret to Feeling More Connected with Loved Ones
You can read the fourth post here: Making Peace with Enough
Photo by Rosa Delgado