Welcome to blog 1

WTF is a motif?

You may or may not have heard this word since a high school English class. A motif, “a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.”

My dominant idea is that I am a mom of four. This is what the outside world sees me as, and only what I saw myself as for many years. But that is not my only story.

A motif, usually found in the context of music, can vary in length, but need to be long enough in order to be recognizable and to carry some kind of significance or thematic value.

I have been on a path of self-reflection, personal growth, and discovery over the last several years and have learned that there are many things about me that carry significance. Some are more important than others. Many things that are recognizable other than being a mom. I didn’t know what those were for such a long time.

The main purpose of a motif is to draw attention to a theme, grab readers attention to the theme or underlying message.

It is not my only theme. I’ve spent hours and hours journaling, reflecting, sitting in counselors and therapist’s offices, reading self-help novels, watching motivational videos, even meeting with a psychic to gain clarity about my life. If self-doubt was an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist. I’ve put in so much work, time, effort and money to figure out that there are not a lot of stories like mine. But the answers to life that I needed were right in front of me. I’ve cried, I’ve laughed, I’ve loved, I’ve been hurt and hurt others. And I’m still here to learn.

Pay close attention to the story’s motifs. You may be more engaged on an intuitive level.

I have gone through most of my life making decisions that were not in the best interests of myself, the people I loved and cared about, and did not serve me well both professionally and personally. I have realized that as much as I would love to go back in time and fix my mistakes or change the experiences I did not like, I cannot do so, and I can only move forward.

I would like to talk about my stories, my experiences, and things that I feel will help others. I have stories to tell of other people and as a student of psychology, I want to help those I’m learning from, use these tools to help others, and share information and knowledge so perhaps, someone can benefit from these stories as well.

-Laura