Happy May!

This month, I want to explore how love helps you remain steady, especially during tougher days. The days when doubt creeps in, energy runs low, or your direction feels unclear. These are the moments when love can transform from a feeling into a form of resilience.

We know that love is not always simple or easy. It may not come with clear answers or appear in the ways we expect. Sometimes, it means showing kindness to yourself. At times, it means choosing to support someone else. This kind of love strengthens you from within and helps you move forward when the path feels rough.

Love Brings Stability When Things Feel Uncertain

When everything feels like it is shifting—whether in your personal life or your creative work—love can provide you with a sense of stability. It may not eliminate fear or doubt, though it can offer you something to rely on as you navigate through those emotions.

A 2021 review in Frontiers in Psychology found that people who felt consistently loved, whether by others or through self-compassion, experienced higher levels of emotional resilience and life satisfaction. I have seen this in my own life. The love I receive from my family and friends has been a major source of comfort and strength during uncertain times.

Love reminds you that you are not alone. It is the hand on your chest that says, "Keep going. You matter."

Invitation: Write down three people, places, or memories that help you feel secure. Return to that list the next time you feel untethered.

Love Is a Choice, Especially on the Hard Days

There will be days when things feel heavy, when you feel tired, unseen, or unsure. On those days, love becomes a choice. It is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about caring anyway—about yourself, about your work, about others.

Think about a time when you supported someone while you were struggling yourself. Or when someone did that for you. That kind of love stays with us. It does not need to be grand to be real.

Invitation: Send a message of appreciation to someone who stood by you. Or journal about a time when you chose to show love, even when it was difficult.

Love Helps You Heal, One Step at a Time

Love does not remove hardship. It changes how you bear it. It softens the grip of pain. A study from the University of North Carolina found that people who practiced daily loving-kindness meditation experienced stronger emotional recovery and better physical well-being.

Small acts of care matter. Lighting a candle. Taking a quiet walk. Speaking gently to yourself. These simple gestures signal that you are worth caring for.

Invitation: Create a short ritual just for yourself. Choose one thing that helps you feel calm and do it with intention—no rushing, no multitasking.

Love Is a Gentle Kind of Courage

Sometimes, love serves as a quiet reminder that you are still becoming. That you are still enough, even when things feel broken. Loving yourself during disappointment or grief is not a sign of weakness. It is awareness. It is recognizing what is needed rather than what is expected.

Love may not change the circumstances. However, it can change your experience of them.

Invitation: Write down one area in your life where you have shown up with care, even through difficulty. Reflect on what helped you keep going.

Personal Reflection

Each month, I offer a way for you to explore your creative wellbeing more deeply. These exercises are inspired by my book, Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct, and Produce the Life You Want, where I blend camera photography and reflective journaling to encourage you to understand yourself even better.

Photo Op

Take a photo of a gesture or object that expresses love without using words:

• A script filled with handwritten notes from someone who believed in your idea
• A favorite mug gifted during a tough time
• A playlist someone made for you that still brings you comfort

Look for something that showed you were cared for, when no one needed to say it out loud.

Action Opportunity

Reflect on the moment behind the image.

• What did that gesture or gift say to you that words could not?
• How did it help you feel less alone or more seen?

Then ask yourself: How can you offer that same kind of quiet love to someone else this week?

Wherever you are in your journey—whether thriving or just hanging on—let love carry you. It may not always feel loud, though it is always present. It walks with you. It creates with you. It becomes part of who you are.

Looking to learn more? Check out Stage 32's Webinar with Maria On Demand- Seven Steps of Mindfulness for Creatives

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

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