More and more I am fascinated by our ability to make connections between seemingly unrelated experiences that can converge to give us new perspectives on our lives. In my life, two things have happened simultaneously in the last couple of months. I had a birthday and I started a new art class.

First, the birthday. This stops just short of a very big number, at least to me. This particular year holds a great big bundle of fears, freedoms, excitements, and a whole bunch of unknowns. I feel as if I am turning the page to a new chapter, and I am fearfully and excitedly curious for what that chapter can be. I’m asking myself how I want to write the next part of the story of my life—my wisdom years. This has put me in the mode of pondering my whole life. I’ve been taking a walk down memory lane, thinking about people that I’ve kept, let go of, taken for granted, and loved deeply. I’ve thought about events that have devasted me, those that brought me to the height of happiness, and the many, many, many simple pleasures that have truly kept me moving at each stop sign, caution sign, crossroad, dead end, and welcome mat along the way.

Photo: Whispers and Illusions, ©Ina Jubert, 2024

Second, the art class. At the same time I started my pondering, I signed up for a new art class. The workshop combines photography, mixed media, and fabric—three things I adore! The foundational creative process in this work is all about layering. There is even a concept called sneaky layering where you have a layered piece that’s all put together, and then you layer that piece with another layer. The most eye-catching pieces are those that have been layered with wildly contrasting images. In these pieces you get depth, interest, deeper perspectives, and a whole lot of richness. You can’t help but look and look and look into all the dimensions the layers bring.

I realized that this layering process is a perfect metaphor for life. We have layers and layers of inner and outer experiences that make up who we are with all our facets, complexities, dualities, and intricacies. Think of looking at a beloved art piece—a painting, sculpture, or photograph—from both close-up and far away. When you look closely, you notice brush strokes, small patches or large swaths of color, scratches, flawed piecing, magical sections, hidden images, fine lines, areas that are or seem broken, bold or quiet markings, swirls, and chiseled and smooth edges. Then when you step back and take it all in, you see how all the layers work together to create one cohesive piece. The piece would not be the piece if not for the layers that make it up. You would not be you if not for the layers of experiences you’ve had in your life.

What if you took a moment, right now, to survey the layers of your life? Would you allow yourself to notice—just notice—your growth, courage, vulnerabilities, passions, hurts, and power to manifest? Would you be able to then step back and see how those layers have made you the person you are today? Can you see yourself in totality? What does your spirit and energy look like? Feel like? Sound like? Can you appreciate and love yourself in that wholeness? Perhaps it’s time for some sneaky layering, to take the time to consider what it would be like to accept yourself completely, right now, as the person you’ve come to know, and to then be intentional about the layers you would add to create even more depth, interest, and richness into the story your life.