Books to Blogs #8
Mindful Souls sent me a three year journal that I decided to pull a question from. The journal title is One Question a Day for Positivity. The question to reflect on asks: Whose art inspires you?
Two names surfaced immediately—artists who seem like polar opposites yet together illuminate the full spectrum of what it means to be human: Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet.
Frida Kahlo: Fierce Truth in Color
Frida Kahlo has captivated me for years. Her work is bold, raw, and unapologetically honest. She didn’t just paint her face—she painted her soul, capturing the agony of her broken body, the complexity of her relationships, and the fierce strength she drew from both.
What moves me most about Frida is her alchemy: the way she transformed suffering into art. She never hid her scars. Instead, she painted them into existence, weaving them into her legacy with unflinching courage. In her self-portraits, I see a woman who refused to let pain have the final word.
Her brushstrokes carry a radical message: our deepest wounds can become our most powerful medicine. Frida’s art reminds me that truth—even when it cuts—holds its own terrible beauty. She embodies the shadow, the parts of ourselves we’re tempted to conceal, yet which hold profound wisdom when we’re brave enough to face them.
Claude Monet: Soft Light and Gentle Flow
Then there is Monet—a completely different energy. His work feels like a gentle exhale: soft, luminous, alive with fleeting beauty. Standing before his water lilies or haystacks, I’m invited to pause, breathe deeply, and see the world through more forgiving eyes.
His brushstrokes blur hard edges, reminding us that life itself is impressionistic—always shifting, always in motion, never fully defined. Where Frida demands we look directly at pain, Monet teaches us to notice how light dances on water, how colors bleed into one another, how beauty emerges in the spaces between certainty.
Monet speaks to the luminous side of the soul. His art whispers: peace is possible, if you’re willing to look closely and let yourself soften. He shows us how to rest in the present moment and trust time’s gentle flow without forcing clarity.
The Dance of Light and Shadow
At first glance, Frida and Monet appear to inhabit different worlds entirely. One is fierce and fiery, the other calm and contemplative. Yet together, they reveal something profound: we are all both.
We carry light and shadow, pain and peace, turbulence and tranquility. True healing requires embracing this duality. Frida calls us to honor our scars and speak our truth; Monet reminds us to find grace in stillness and surrender to beauty’s quiet presence.
Inspiration, I’ve come to understand, doesn’t emerge from just one side of the spectrum—it blooms when we learn to hold the whole of our experience with equal reverence.
A Living Canvas
Frida and Monet sit together in my heart like two essential teachers: one fierce, one gentle. Their art inspires me to keep living in full color—both raw and honest, soft, and flowing. They remind me that we are not meant to choose between shadow and light, but to let both inform the masterpiece of our lives.
What strikes me most is how both artists remained true to their unique ways of seeing, even when the world might have preferred something different. Frida could have painted prettier pictures, ones that didn’t confront viewers with uncomfortable truths. Monet could have stuck to more traditional, detailed realism instead of his revolutionary impressionistic style. Instead, they trusted their vision and gave us gifts we didn’t even know we needed.
This feels like an invitation for all of us: to trust our own unique way of seeing, to honor both our shadows and our light, and to remember our authentic expression—however it looks—has value in this world.
Final reflection: As you consider the artists who inspire you, what do they reveal about the parts of yourself you’re still learning to embrace? What would your life look like if you painted it with the same authenticity that drew you to their work?
So I leave you with the same question: Whose art inspires you, and what forgotten parts of yourself do they help you remember?
Theresa
Flexible Being
Empowering Your Journey to Healing, Clarity, and Self-Discovery.
I thank you for being here. If you enjoyed this post, there’s plenty more where that came from, everything from soulful healing tips to playful prompts and real conversations about life.
Find me and connect today. I want to know your story:
Email: theresa@flexiblebeing.com
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
Instagram: @theresamartinezshapiro | @flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
