I’ve been looking forward to sharing this precious little piece with you all. I knew for a time that I wanted to rename this one, but the right name escaped me. I remember looking at it during my sickness — a simple little piece that spoke of hope, victory and breakthrough — all of which felt so far away. I couldn’t give a name to the things that felt out of reach, so I put it on the shelf, to be considered later.
Well, I picked it up again recently. Just a month since my healing breakthrough, the name came to me almost instantly: “Emergence."
I looked up the dictionary definition, and you can find emergence described as "the process of coming into being; the process of coming into view or becoming exposed after being concealed.” After a dark and lonely season of isolation, that’s literally what’s happening now. In the depth of CIRS and MCS/EI, “emergence" is what I prayed for, what I fought for… even before I could speak that word into existence. But just as the piece existed even before it was named… healing was waiting for me, even before I dared to speak the word. This piece is for me, right now, but it was also for me, then — even when I couldn’t see it.
I’m dedicating this piece to all those who fight for emergence. Especially my fellow chronic illness and autoimmune warriors, who have had their true selves concealed, buried under the weight of sickness. Keep fighting for emergence, my friends, and don’t be afraid to speak the word out loud. Just as it was for me… it might be waiting for you around the bend.
Materials: Ink, acrylic glass, handmade black shadowbox frame. Measures approximately 7 x 10 3/4 x 2 inches.