What Would Catherine the Great Do?

As it is Women’s History Month, here is a quote from Catherine the Great, the longest ruling female leader of Russia. I created the background for this piece during one of our studio play dates. I thought it looked like a huge disaster…messy, unruly, even a bit unattractive. I then read these words and thought of my attitude toward this mess. I greatly enjoyed these words as they made me think about how often Catherine the Great probably had to say them to herself”

I beg you take courage;
the brave soul can mend even disaster.

– Catherine the Great 1796

Disaster, which is something all of us have experienced in some shape or form along this journey called life. And no matter when or how or why that disaster takes place, it feels devastating. If we are caught off guard, we feel unprepared and unaware. If we can see it coming, we may be filled with dread or anxiety. And when it is of our own making – bad decisions, procrastination, poor planning, or even failure – we can feel worthless, extremely humbled and angry that we were so stupid to let this happen. No matter how or why it happens, disasters are life disturbances we cannot avoid.

I was once offered a piece of advice from a Mentor. It is a great way to look at life: You are either heading into a storm, in the midst of a storm, or heading out of a storm. So no matter where you are right now, you need to know how to deal with storms which always bring disaster.

Catherine the Great reminds us that the brave soul can handle it. There is a way out, there is a resolution, a clean up or recovery that will get us to the other side. She reminds us that we need to be brave…above all else, be brave!!! And that bravery can be hard to muster as we wade through personal feelings of inadequacy and anger. She was the longest reigning female leader of Russia, if she can do it we can do it. So I challenged my inner Catherine the Great and added words to this background. Lo and behold, I think it turned out pretty good…disastrous alcohol ink background handled.

So let me encourage you to be brave and take courage. No matter how bad your current storm or disaster feels…the brave soul can can get you through it all. It may not be as simple as s bad gel print, alcohol ink background, yet to you it still feels like a disaster. So be brave, and know that this too shall pass and you will be stronger, wiser and better equipped once you end up on the other side. If Catherine the Great could do it, so can you!