The Alchemy Transmissions: The Art of Feeling Good
With Cara RuthWhat happens when you up and drop your entire identity? When the people closest to you tell you they’ll be there every step of the way, but they’re not? When you have a burning passion for what you do, but at the same time curse and hex the whole process because it’s so fucking hard?
Today’s Alchemy Transmissions guest, Cara Ruth, is going to tell us.
There’s no denying that women everywhere are quitting everything. They’re done with corporate bullshit, with roles that benefit everyone but themselves and they’re done playing by imaginary rules that were created to keep them as small as possible.
So, so often, we hear success stories once someone has made it to the top, and they talk about the climb up in an abstract, distant way. They’re out of the woods, and the deconstruction of their old life is meaningful, but not active anymore. So, as a listener, we often don’t feel like their success is relatable to our real lives — like, that’s great for her, but what does this actually mean for me?
Cara quit the corporate life more than a year ago, and she has first-hand (and extremely realistic) perspectives on the reality of leaving what’s absolutely not you in pursuit of what is — with every fiber of your being.
It’s exactly why this conversation with Cara is so potent. She’s in the build phase. She’s living it out – the wins, the walls, the pivots and the hard, but oh-so-freeing truths that come with creative entrepreneurship.
Women are abandoning “the matrix” in droves, and they’re telling the truth about what it’s really like on the other side of being everyone else’s good girl.
Alchemy of Home meets women at this crossroads all the time: one identity is gone, and the new one is still emerging. Our homes often become the first place we begin to take shape again though. Ironically (or is it?), Cara is in the middle of a literal home transition and transformation herself, and she shares how she’s intentionally using her space to deepen her relationship with herself, her identity and her art.
So, let’s dive in.
The Art of Feeling Good
1. Hi Cara! I feel like we met truly by chance, even though we have several mutual connections! I’m so glad we did meet though, because it feels like it was meant to be! Tell us all about yourself – who are you, really?
Wow, I don’t think I knew you were a fashion major, too! I started my career in designer shoes and then went on to some marketing gigs myself before winding up totally burnt out (and bored) by corporate jobs.
As a fellow Aries rising and alchemist, “going first” seems to be a theme here. I have comments.
2. You’re a multi-hyphenate to be sure, but an artist at your core, and not everyone relates to a creative career. When you tell people what you do, what do you wish they understood about it?
(Written from my couch on a Tuesday afternoon) I relate to this SO much. Unless someone has experienced this, it’s totally un-relatable. I know it’s not meant to feel condescending, but it’s like, GURL, U DON’T EVEN KNOWWW.
3. Inspiration is unpredictable and it’s everywhere. If someone wanted to pursue. creativity, they might not even know where to start or how to translate their ideas into art. How do you find inspiration, and what do you do with it when it strikes?
My notes app is also where all my ideas go to… incubate. I am the same way about books and inspiration, but you know what? I swear sometimes the ideas really do need to incubate for a while! The observation phase is so real — creativity needs time and space as much as that “spark” of inspiration, and knowing how to slow down look, listen, feel and sense your way into action is such a beautiful yet scary place to be if we aren’t familiar with the process!
4. No one is “self-made.” Success requires support, and wisdom is earned. Passing on that wisdom and support matters more than ever, so what’s the best advice you’ve ever been given, and how do you actually apply it in your life?
Make it exist, and then make it good. So many people (it’s me, I’m people) want things to be perfect before they act. But the only way you can make it perfect is to learn from what you’re doing!
5. Okay, enough love and light – what’s total bullshit?
‘You’re on your own, kid’ is soooo real, girl. One, being a business owner is generally not relatable, so even talking about your day to day with friends or family only goes so deep because no one else is living the same days you are anymore.
What “support” looks like has to change, and of course, I have something to add to this.
6. I know you just moved into a new space, and although starting over can be overwhelming, what are you most excited about in your home right now? What can’t you wait to do to make it all your own?
You don’t even knowwww how excited I am for you. Being able to fully express yourself in your home will absolutely change your relationship with yourself. I LOVE that you’re painting a nude of yourself! I had some done a few years ago, and they’re hanging in my living room. I fully support this journey and I think more women do this, even if they never show anyone!
Styling your home exactly how you want, at this exact stage of your life will give you such an energetic advantage in so many ways — which you already know. But being able to see yourself mirrored back to you every day serves as a constant reminder of exactly who you are, making you unshakeable out in the rest of the world. It’s like a magic portal to your higher self.
7. You offer SO much, from art to apparel and even personal styling (high key obsessed). Where can the good people find you to get in on your work?!
So, what now?
Thank you, Cara, for taking the time to chat with us and let us into your world and your processes. As more and more people are looking around and asking, “What now?” I think conversations real people who are forging new paths is more important than ever! And more important than that? Trusting ourselves to know what feels good — so thank you for leading the way.
You can support Cara and her work by visiting her socials and her website (linked above), and you’ll want to stay in touch because a little bird told me she’s rolling out even more ways to connect!
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