We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Megan Boyd a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Megan, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
Write, Paint, Color, Draw, Doodle, & Attune.
It’s the last one that’s been the most challenging to navigate.
As a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); it’s my duty to ensure the safety and wellness of clients while simultaneously, as a Counselor Educator, it’s my duty to teach future counselors how to do the exact same thing.
Through a process of professional & personal growth at the onset of the Pandemic, I reached out to a colleague who was experiencing something similar. It was during this time, coupled with sharing our own writings, paintings, colorings, drawings, and doodles in a way that enriched us both. Naturally, it inspired both of us to re-conceptualize how we truly nurture ourselves; by thinking through “Soul-Care” rather than “Self-Care.” This project became bigger than ourselves, and sharing it in our own authentic way has kept the creativity alive.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
An excerpt from our book, “From Self-Care to Soul-Care: Restorative AF Practices for Clinicians,” describes this best: our website is https://restorativeaf.com/.
“To the Developing Student
To the Professional in Training
To the Counselor
To the Social Worker
To the Relationship Navigators
To the Community-Based Rockstars
To the Heroes of Trauma
To the Ones that Reunite Families
The Justice Seekers
To the LGBTQ+ Warriors
To the Voices of the Youth
To the Legends
To the Educators and Supervisors
To the Trusted Mentor
We see you.
It’s finally your time to rest.”
“This book contains our reflections that resulted from engaging in Restorative Practices as Healers. This book is more like a workbook. The book includes eight reflections and life lessons we experienced throughout the pandemic. Within each chapter, we discuss steps in our journey toward restoration. At the end of each chapter, you will have an opportunity to self-reflect using journal prompts to help you re-evaluate areas and identify similar themes, nuances, or coincidences.
Be aware of and intentionally recognize how you answer these questions. The goal of the prompts is for you to modify, edit, or create your narrative.”
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The character traits and qualities that I live by are Strength, Courage, Grit, and Gratitude. It’s the following platitudes that keep me motivated.
Strength: “You are Stronger than you think you are.”
Courage: “FearLESS to be Fearless.”
Grit: “We CAN do hard things when we do it Together.”
Gratitude: “Start Each Day with a Grateful Heart.”
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Living Authentically & Owning my Story after Much Too Long.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://restorativeaf.com/
- Instagram: @restorative_af_practices; @drmeg_; @drthommi
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thommiodomlawson?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
- Twitter: @drmeg_
- Other: My Co-Author is Dr. Thommi Odom, please give credit as well:
Image Credits
Megan Boyd
