Story & Lesson Highlights with M Abeo of seattle

We recently had the chance to connect with M Abeo and have shared our conversation below.

Hi M, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
It’s funny, time is something we made up. The concept of it, the meaning of it, and way we relate and respond to it. Even the words we use to describe time, all made up. Once you start realizing all of those layers, it’s amazing the way you can lose track of something that never really existed in the first place.

Love makes me lose track of time. Awe makes me lose it very quickly. There are pigeons that live on the roof of our apartment building that come to our window for breakfast every morning for the last few years religiously. They know time. They know just after the sun comes up, they see me come out of my bedroom and watch me quietly as I go to the bathroom. When I come out I grab their bird seed jar they begin to softly coo and as I walk to their window, one will fly up quickly to the roof to alert the others. They all come flying down – maybe 20 of them. I like to think of them as my breakfast rush, at the bird diner on my 3rd floor window sill. Sometimes Richard and Seagull will sit on the adjacent light post and wait for nuts and seed bread. For them at that moment, time matters to me. They remind me that the only time we really have, is now.

The last time I spoke with VoyageLA was before COVID. The urgency I used to live with, pre-quarantine is a thing of the past. The constant worry around things of the past and events that had not even happened yet in the future. Unraveling the need to return emails, texts and calls as a form of urgency for someone else’s bottom line, is quite a task. Finding myself again has been to lose track of time, so I am able to settle into the real life moments with more presence. That energy takes time, time I am willing to slow down to give back to myself for all of the years of madness that didn’t prioritize my own mental space over others.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Mariangela but you can call me M. I am a storyteller, TEDx speaker, published author and the photographer for an ongoing art installation entitled Faces of Fortitude, which shines a light on stories connected to mental health and suicide.

In December 2024 I published a small book called The Little Bloom Book. The book was born during quarantine when my life came to a cross roads of grief, loss and loneliness, and in a moment of despair it was my plants that saved me, reminding me the things I did to keep them alive, could also be used to keep me alive. The book is a collection of stories and plant antidotes, to hopefully plant a seed with the readers when healing their own wounds. We all have some sort of grief or trauma in our lives. They live in every bloom we experience, and everyone has their own story.

It is my hope that my art and storytelling can inspire others to move a little slower with themselves. Learning love and grace for ourselves, makes it easier for us to give it to others. Let’s make empathy great again.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
I have been trying to do a better job at being grateful to the parts of me that I release. I think I used to be very negative like “Oh I am so glad I am not that version of me anymore! WTF was I thinking!?”

Now I am doing a lot of “I have so much compassion for that version of myself, they really were trying hard.”

I think the part of me that instinctively reduced myself to fit into rooms with people who thought I was a lot. I think many people who are socialized as women will speak to that experience. Being told you are too big, too loud, too moody, too bossy, etc. Having to shrink your feelings because someone who can’t handle theirs needs to take up all the space.

That version of me kept me safe, and was so helpful in times when I needed them. But we trust ourselves now. I think when you learn to find that best friend in yourself again, because think about it – only YOU know what you need to feel fully loved. It’s your job to give that to you and show others what that love looks like. We can trust ourselves to have our backs in those rooms we used to shrink in. I am so grateful to her, and, she can rest now and take a load off.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
You tried so hard to be seen, I want you to know as you get older, you will feel seen finally. I promise.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
Now it is, yes. But not before about 4 years ago. I finally no longer care with people think, what you see is what you get with me. I wore masks for over 4 decades, its exhausting. Our vulnerability is our superpower. It’s how communities thrive and survive, by supporting each other, and being real. Perfect people are vapid and boring. Show me you have a heart, let me see your spirit.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
I would stop worrying about if I am doing life right, and just do life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://facesoffortitude.art/
• Instagram: @facesoffortitude