I read this quote for the first time when I was browsing the site of Bloodmilk (jewelry that I adore and love!) This quote moved my soul in a way, that I felt the waves of the ocean within me say, yes I have survived my monster. I have always loved the art of storytelling as a tool to heal, educate, remember, and reclaim. The Roses & Monsters project came to be for these reasons: to keep alive traditions/rituals and to tell the stories & lessons that can help us grow, stay connected, and most of all break the cycles that keep the monsters around. My hope is that folk will use this project as an inspiration to document within their families/communities and to collectively shift the world to a place of love & wellness. 

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So why the words “Roses” & “Monsters”? My personal approach to this work, which looks unique depending on who you are, is the importance of acknowledging the many “Roses” that encompass us, our loved ones, and our communities. Some examples of some of my Roses that I will write about are the first time I set eyes on my niece when she was born, getting second place in a regional spelling bee, my ability to love, my empathy, my mom’s meatloaf, my dad’s ability to fix everything mechanical, my grandma's rum cake, etc. etc. Roses are the greatness of accomplishments, milestones, traditions, recipes that you want to pass on, that you want your future generations to appreciate, no matter how big or small. We are lifted by all the different types of Roses that come to be. My hope is that these Roses are shared from a place of love & wellness. 

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“Monsters”, is the harder one of the two. These have existed from the beginning of time and everyone always says, it is what its, and that these Monsters have to exist and have a place in our world. I disagree. While I know things like car accidents, sickness, and other sad things are unavoidable and are a part of life, what has shifted is the “how” we process these events. I feel we process these things in such a way, where we just pass through the emotion and don’t feel/process these events. In turn, our approach makes us unable to support our community/loved ones or set up mechanisms for folk to feel held leading to isolation, addiction, and other behaviors that cause harm to an individual and their communities. Another type of “Monsters” that does not have to be part of life are things like murder, domestic violence, and sexual abuse/violence to name a few. As a childhood sexual abuse and rape survivor (and a second generation survivor,) I feel it's important to talk about the “Monsters” that happen within our families, but also outside of them. How can we break these cycles? How do we learn from these events that leave a hole in the soul? My hopes is that this project will help families/communities break the cycle by creating a platform/resources to have these dialogues. And this by far, is no easy feat. As I’ve been diving into this journey for the past decade with my family, it has not been an easy one and while some of my family has become estranged from me, I feel its important to keep doing this work not for me, but for nieces, nephews, and my little cousins. So maybe we can break the cycle for them and future generations.

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With that said, I will be sharing my own journey along with the journey of loved ones and peers who have been doing this type of transformative work. In the future, I will be opening the blog as well, to guest writers, for I feel there are so many ways to heal and approach these dialogues. I hope you enjoy this journey of my Roses & Monsters. Along with our blog tool, we do ask folk to keep journals of their “Roses & Monsters” that they may not be ready to share while they are on this realm, but once they’ve passed onto the other. If you’d like more info on this part of the project, please do contact me.