Layli Long Soldier, a poet and author, discusses her transformation during pregnancy, finding relaxation and deep focus, embracing uncertainty in the creative process, and the concept of abundance. They also explore personal limits and prioritizing happiness over societal success.
Becoming a mother unexpectedly changed the speaker's perspective, instilling a sense of trust in the world and her creative practice.
Embracing imperfections and letting go of the need for perfection has allowed the speaker to tap into a deeper creative energy and nurture her artistic endeavors.
Deep dives
Trusting the Universe and Stepping Into an Energetic Wave
The speaker shares how becoming a mother unexpectedly changed her perspective and instilled a sense of trust in the world. She initially had reservations about being a parent due to fear of making mistakes and experiencing heartbreak. However, she found that despite not being financially prepared, her child's needs were met, leading her to trust in a greater universal energy. This newfound trust extends to her creative practice as a writer and artist, where she has learned to step into a wave of trust and believe that her needs will be met.
Embracing Imperfections and Overcoming Overthinking
The speaker reflects on the process of embracing imperfections in both her parenting journey and her artistic endeavors. She discusses how it took her a while to break free from overthinking in her creative process and find a place of creative liberation. She emphasizes the importance of realizing that creativity is a skill that needs to be nurtured and honed, rather than always assuming it will be present. By letting go of the need for perfection, she has been able to tap into a deeper creative energy.
Finding Abundance in Unexpected Ways
The speaker shares her experience of initially feeling financially unprepared when she had her child, but being pleasantly surprised by the abundance that came into her life. She recounts receiving generous support from friends during her baby shower and having all the necessary resources provided for her and her child. This experience led her to trust in a greater abundance from the universe, which she believes extends beyond material needs and permeates other aspects of her life, including her writing career.
Moving Away from the Scarcity Mentality
The speaker discusses the notion of scarcity and the pressure to constantly strive and prove oneself. She shares her personal journey of realizing that continually seeking validation and overworking oneself is not healthy. This realization led her to make the decision to not pursue a highly demanding goal that would have stretched her personal limits. Instead, she embraces the idea of honoring her own boundaries and finding contentment in her current work and responsibilities.
Poet Layli Long Soldier joins Mira to talk about her transformation during pregnancy, learning to open up to the possibilities of the world, and how she makes a space for ease in order to make a space for creativity.
Layli Long Soldier earned a BFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts and an MFA with honors from Bard College. She is the author of the chapbook Chromosomory (2010) and the full-length collection Whereas (2017), which won the National Books Critics Circle award and was a finalist for the National Book Award. She has been a contributing editor to Drunken Boat and poetry editor at Kore Press; in 2012, her participatory installation, Whereas We Respond, was featured on the Pine Ridge Reservation. In 2015, Long Soldier was awarded a National Artist Fellowship from the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation and a Lannan Literary Fellowship for Poetry. She was awarded a Whiting Writer’s Award in 2016. Long Soldier is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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