Using Art to Navigate Change Gently

There are seasons when life asks us to listen instead of act.

Nothing is urgently wrong.
Nothing is clearly right.
But something is shifting beneath the surface, and the usual ways of moving forward feel strangely out of reach.

These are listening seasons.

They often arrive quietly — disguised as fatigue, restlessness, or a vague sense that the old rhythms no longer fit. And because they don’t announce themselves clearly, many women try to push through them.

But listening seasons aren’t obstacles.
They are invitations.

What Is a Listening Season?

A listening season is a period of inner reorientation.

It’s a time when:

clarity hasn’t arrived yet
decisions feel premature
effort creates more friction than flow

In listening seasons, the wisest thing you can do is pause without retreating — to stay present without forcing answers.

This can feel uncomfortable in a culture that values certainty and momentum. But listening is not inactivity.

It is a form of deep attention.

Why Change Often Requires Listening First

Change doesn’t always begin with insight.

Often, it begins with sensation — a feeling, a hesitation, a quiet longing that doesn’t yet have language.

When we rush to define change too quickly, we risk shaping it from fear rather than truth.

Listening seasons allow change to reveal itself slowly, in its own shape and timing.

And this is where art becomes an ally.

Using Art as a Listening Practice

Art offers a way to stay with what’s emerging without trying to control it.

Not art as outcome.
Not art as expression for an audience.
But art as listening.

A page that holds uncertainty without commentary.
A color that mirrors your mood without explanation.
A mark that simply says, this is how today feels.

This kind of art practice doesn’t demand resolution.
It creates space.

And space is often what change needs most.

Art Journaling for Transitions and Thresholds

During listening seasons, art journaling can become a form of gentle navigation.

Not by mapping answers —
but by making room for noticing.

You may find yourself returning to the same symbols.
Repeating the same colors.
Lingering longer on fewer pages.

This isn’t stagnation.
It’s attunement.

Art journaling during transitions allows the inner landscape to speak in its own language — before words try to organize it.

Trusting Slowness in Midlife and Beyond

For many women, listening seasons become more pronounced in midlife.

This is often when:

long-held identities loosen
external measures of success lose their pull
inner truth grows louder, but less defined

Slowness here is not regression.

It is discernment.

Listening seasons ask us to trade urgency for intimacy — to know ourselves more deeply before deciding how to move forward.

You Don’t Need to Hurry This

If you find yourself wanting clarity but lacking certainty…
If you feel called to rest without disengaging…
If art feels more like a place to sit than a tool to use…

You may be exactly where you need to be.

Listening seasons are not pauses between meaningful moments.
They are the meaningful moments.

A Gentle Invitation to Be Accompanied

Some women move through listening seasons privately, letting art hold the conversation — and that is enough.

Others reach a moment when they long for shared listening.
Someone to sit beside them.
Someone to help reflect what’s being sensed but not yet named.
Someone to offer companionship without pressure.

If this reflection resonates, you may want to explore The Threshold — my private, art-centered mentoring for women navigating change and transition.

You can learn more on the Work with Me page. There’s no urgency — only an open door, should you wish to step closer.

For now, allow yourself to listen.
Change will speak when it’s ready.