"Welcome back, friend"
artist, writer, and spiritual care provider Katarina Wong on welcoming herself back to the moment, reframing creative blocks, and rekindling a sense of wonder ✨
This is a Beginner’s Mind interview, a series that explores the intersection of mindfulness and creative practice. Zen master Shunryū Suzuki Roshi said, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert’s mind, there are few.” This series shines a light on the practices that sustain people in their daily lives and open the path to new possibilities. Subscribe below to make sure you don’t miss any future interviews. ✨
is an artist, writer, spiritual care provider, and the author of Three Threads, a newsletter that is “an invitation to pause and deepen into the fullness of our human experience with art as our guide.” I stumbled onto Katarina’s newsletter when shared her work on Notes (a reminder to keep sharing what moves you, friends!) I love the way Katarina weaves together the three threads of her life—creativity, spirituality and social justice—and shares these so intentionally with her readers. The essay “Piñatas and Earthly Delights” is one of many favorites. In it, Katarina brings together her father’s story immigrating to the US during the Chinese Exclusion era, a meditation on shape-shifting, and inspiration from the artist Roberto Benavidez. Katarina is a master of fusing together seemingly disparate threads and helping us find new connections in our own lives and work. I think you’ll love what she shares here about her practices, as well as an exercise to help you rekindle a sense of wonder. Read on, friends. ✨
What are your writing/creative practices? Do you have any rituals or habits that help you?
I’m a visual artist and since I work serially, I’ve gotten my hands in several different types of mediums. Currently I’m painting and also making porcelain sculptures that explore transitory states of consciousness. I’m also a writer – I’ve written about U.S.-Cuba policy as well as immigration and racism for several media outlets including The New York Daily News and the Miami Herald. I especially love writing personal essays and articles about art, so at the start of this year, I decided to launch a newsletter called Three Threads as a way to think and write about art, creativity, spirituality, and just being more human with one another. At the time, I didn’t anticipate how important this would become to my own life. Unfortunately, my partner received an unexpected and unwanted health diagnosis around the time I started the newsletter, and, well, you can imagine how life has been upturned. Having this regular ritual of looking at art, thinking about its relevance, and then trying to translate these thoughts into something coherent has become a way of immersing myself, if only for a few hours each week, in the ever-present, life-giving force of creativity.
What are your mindfulness practices? Do you have your own definition or way of thinking about mindfulness? Can you describe your practices and what they bring into your life?
I’m a long-time meditator, but while I think my time “on the cushion” is important, I’m trying really slooooow down. I lived in New York City for 20 years before moving to the Southwest during the pandemic. Back then, my days were spent rushing about, and I keenly felt my ambition and drive. Indeed, a place like NYC is a shrine to human ambition, the skyscrapers often blocking the sun.
While my days are still busy, the landscape here reminds me how small I really am. I live in a place that has been home to indigenous peoples for millennia. The brilliant sunsets have lit up the skies for coyotes, bobcats, and ravens long before me and will continue (hopefully) long after. The piñons and juniper, the red earth and chamisa will persist, even though I won’t. As a result, my relationships have changed: to myself, to my place in nature, to my community. That shift helps me be more conscious of the present moment and gives my ego a chance to relax. The soft sound of typing on my keyboard, how my dogs are sprawled out in the morning light, the smell of coffee… I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention back then, but now these quotidian moments feel like tiny miracles that fill me with gratitude.
Do you have a mantra or motto related to your creative/mindfulness practices/life? What piece of wisdom do you have on a post-it note to help you remember it?
In the Zencare podcast, Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison sometimes says, “...and we’re back!” as a way of refocusing his wandering thoughts during meditation.
Isn’t that such a lovely invitation? Instead of feeling frustrated with myself, I love the idea of welcoming myself back to the moment in the most normal and warm way, as if a dear friend has walked in the door. Now when I notice I’ve gotten caught up in my thoughts and not paying attention to what I’m doing, in meditation or otherwise, I say “Welcome back, friend,” even if my meditation looks like “Welcome back, friend…. Welcome back… Welcome back, yet again, my friend…”
“Welcome back, friend”
What advice would you give someone who is trying to start or restart a creative or mindfulness practice?
I want to affirm that creativity is an intrinsic and even sacred part of our humanity. No matter what we’ve been told when we were kids or what society values, we are inherently creative beings.
That said, I also know that starting (or restarting) a creative practice can be really daunting. It’s a moment when we’re standing outside of something, when we just long to be in it, wanting to give over to exploration and flow. It’s important to remember that when we want to start or restart a creative practice—when we’re standing “outside”—our minds throw up a lot of barriers. Thoughts like “I suck at [fill in the blank],” “I have nothing to say,” or “this is a waste of time” can start barrelling through, trying to overshadow that crucial part of ourselves that wants to express itself.
Instead of resisting those thoughts or trying to fight them, my advice is to notice any resistance and then simply amend the thoughts with one word: “sometimes.”
Because, yes, sometimes, I do suck when I’m trying to draw, paint, or sculpt something. Sometimes I have nothing to say, and sometimes, yes, I do things that turn out to be a waste of time, but the word “sometimes” does something important.
Our fears are there to keep us safe and any change presents risks—even getting in touch with our creativity—so by stating something that’s true, the word “sometimes” helps dissipate the resistance and simultaneously opens up the possibility that there are indeed times I absolutely don’t suck at what I’m doing, that I do have something to say, and that I’m not wasting my time. With the negativity or fears calmed, it’s much easier to enter into our creativity.
Your career has included spiritual and creativity pursuits. How do they fit together or do you see them as separate?
It’s true. Throughout my career, I've been interested in spirituality and creativity, as well social justice, specifically elevating underrecognized people and their experiences. However, these areas have been mainly siloed in my career. A couple of years ago, I decided I wanted to integrate them in a more meaningful way, so I got a certificate in spiritual direction to complement the work I did many years prior at the Harvard Divinity School, where I got a Master in Theological Studies in World Religions.
Even though people are increasingly moving away from religious institutions, the “big questions” persist—What is my purpose? My values? How to navigate a personal or professional crossroad with integrity or how to experience more connection with others? What are my gifts and how do I apply them to my community?
Spiritual care, which I believe includes creativity, is a way to work with these vital questions, especially as we struggle to make our way in an increasingly fractured world.
An Exercise from Katarina ✨✨
If I’m looking for a place to rekindle my creativity and curiosity, I like to use a simple, but effective exercise. Let’s say you want to cultivate a sense of wonder…
First start by sitting comfortably and getting quiet. Think about a time when you felt an overwhelming sense of wonder, when you were absolutely captivated by that moment.
Slowly go through your sensory and emotional experience: What did you see? What were the sounds at that moment? Was there a smell, a taste? What did your body feel like? Was the place you were at warm or cold? Was there a breeze? What was the ground like beneath your feet? What emotions arose and where did you notice them in your body?
Really try to put yourself physically and emotionally in that space, then take a few minutes to write, draw, paint, or otherwise turn that experience into a creative act.
Did something new about the experience come up? Is there something in your current experience that resonates with it?
You can use what you’ve created as a jumping off point to go even deeper.
is an artist, writer, and spiritual care provider. Her artwork is inspired by her longtime meditation practice as well as her Cuban-Chinese heritage. She shows her work internationally and nationally, including at the Fowler Museum in LA, the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, the Bronx Museum of Art in NYC and the San Antonio Art Museum. Katarina’s writing has appeared in the HuffPost, The New York Daily News, The Miami Herald, Two Coats of Paint, and Entrepreneur, among others. She has a BA in classics from St. John’s College, an MFA from the University of MD, and a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. She lives in Santa Fe, NM with her partner Mark and blended dog family.
For more from Katarina ✨
Katarina’s newsletter is Three Threads. I highly recommend that you subscribe below👇🏼
Katarina’s artwork and writing can be found on her website katarinawong.com.
Learn more about her spiritual care work at katarinawongcare.com.
Follow her on instagram at @katarinawong.
Katarina recently published an article in HuffPost on dealing with conflict.
What You May have Missed on Be Where You Are
The next Ass in Chair Collective this Mon, June 23rd is for paid subscribers. Details are in the post below. Let me know if you have any questions!👇🏼
🌱 Be Where You Are is 100% reader-supported. You can support this work by becoming a paid subscriber or you can make a one-time donation here. Or, just send it to a friend! Every bit helps more than you know. 🌱
Be Where You Are is a newsletter about how to use writing and mindfulness to live more fully where you are. To reply to this newsletter, just hit reply. I’d love to hear from you! I read and respond to every comment. You can also find me on Instagram / Facebook / Bluesky or find more info at my website.
 | A guest post by
|
Thank you, Emily. I’ve loved the previous interviews, so am honored to be part of this series. Your questions are so thoughtful and thought provoking. I really enjoyed the opportunity to engage with them!