The woman with the colourful embroidery, the flowers in her hair and the bold paintbrush is also an example of resilience. Frida Kahlo loved art and found in it a refuge from a body gripped by pain and a mind too advanced for her time.
The Mexican painter not only became one of the great exponents of her country’s art, but her life can serve as an inspiration to us in the most difficult times. She underwent more than 32 operations and, even so, gathered strength to carry on. Her soul did not fare any better, as for many years she maintained an almost sickly and volatile love that caused her deep emotional wounds.
Today, Frida Kahlo remains an example of intelligence and character, of passion and pride, of tireless work and endurance. She was a person who did not allow herself to be pigeonholed and who knew how to live intensely, despite the circumstances. Therefore, her way of thinking and understanding life can serve as support in those moments when our strength abandons us and we see everything grey around us.
When pain leads to resilience
1. Why do I need feet, if I have wings to fly?
Frida Kahlo suffered a traffic accident that fractured her spine in three places, her collarbone and pubic bone, as well as several ribs. She was forced to stay in bed, wear plaster corsets and move around in a wheelchair during several phases of her life. However, she found the strength and motivation she needed in painting. Frida Kahlo knew that when one window closes, others can open, even when adversity takes on the darkest shades. The painter decided to take refuge in hope, in what she had, rather than lament what she had lost.
2. Walling off your own suffering is risking being devoured from within
Frida Kahlo was a strong woman, but she did not keep her feelings to herself. On the contrary, she poured them out on people or expressed them through her work. In fact, on more than one occasion she said that she drew her life, that she expressed what she felt on her canvases. The painter knew that when we try to repress anger or suffering, it ends up devouring us from within. For this reason, it is always advisable to find a constructive way to channel our emotions.
3. At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think
We tend to underestimate our resilience, our ability to cope with problems. In fact, a study conducted after the September 11 attacks in New York revealed that after one month, 7.5% of the population suffered from post-traumatic stress. However, six months later only 0.6% still had the symptoms, which means that most people went through a natural recovery process. Therefore, when we are going through difficult times, it is important to trust in our strength and in our ability to successfully face adversity. Trusting that we can get through this situation is essential to maintain hope and keep fighting.
4. Nothing is absolute. Everything changes, everything moves, everything turns, everything flies and disappears
When we are suffering, we tend to think that the feeling will last forever, that the pain will never go away. However, in reality, life is constantly changing, so the situations we are experiencing today will not be permanent but will give way to other experiences. Being aware that life involves constant change not only allows us to deal better with suffering but also makes it easier for us to practice detachment and accept changes with greater equanimity.
5. Each tick-tock is a second of life that passes, flees, and is not repeated. And there is so much intensity and interest in it that the problem is only knowing how to live it
We don’t usually value time, but in reality, it is our most valuable possession. Every second that passes is part of the past, it becomes something we cannot change. That is why it is essential to learn to live fully in the present, to be aware that every step we take can take us further away or closer to our goals. Don’t let life pass you by while you make other plans because in the blink of an eye, you will be in the final stretch, regretting everything you didn’t do.
6. What doesn’t kill me, feeds me
Every mistake, every fall, every failure is simply a lesson. There is no point in complaining about spilled milk and playing the victim, instead we must learn the lesson and move on. However, it is not just about putting the broken pieces back together but about mixing them in a different way to create something new, which allows us to grow as people. Pain and mistakes are never welcome but, as part of life, they have their purpose and are great teachers.
7. Where you cannot love, do not linger
Loving people and loving what you do, those are the keys to happiness. However, we often forget this and spend too much time in our lives dedicated to things that do not make us happy or that we are not passionate about, or we remain tied to people simply out of habit. Frida Kahlo, a woman who lived a particularly intense life, knew very well what she was talking about, which is why she said that it is better not to spend too much time on things that are not worthwhile, because if we are careless, they can end up sucking up our entire life.
8. I don’t think the banks of a river would suffer from letting it flow
The painter was referring to her love affair with Diego Rivera and his many infidelities. With this phrase she reveals great wisdom and maturity, qualities that are difficult to put into practice when we love. In fact, she points out the need to accept the people we love as they are, without trying to change them. True love is not that which tries to change the other person, but that which gives itself and even appreciates the defects, understanding them as peculiarities that make the other person unique.
9. Beauty and ugliness are a mirage because others end up seeing our interior
What is essential is invisible to the eyes. Therefore, it is important to cultivate our inner self, learn to relate to others and develop in ourselves those qualities that we would like to find in others. Possessions are ephemeral, just like beauty; what is truly important are our values and feelings.
10. Choose a person who looks at you as if you were magic
It is important to choose the people we have by our side well, especially our partner, because toxic people can destroy security and self-confidence. A lie repeated a thousand times can become the truth, so it is essential that those who are by our side make us feel special and trust in our abilities.
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