Tuesday Thoughts and a little food for thought

Isabelle
Jul 16, 2025
3 min read

Hi Friends,

I hope you found last week’s take on responsibility helpful.

Today I was inspired by something I heard in an interview. It was a German podcast and the words I am about to write about today, reaction and creation, actually rhyme in German, (as they should in English as well! I will never understand the rules of pronunciation...well, there aren’t any:).

From Reaction to Creation: Choosing Joy Over Fear

There’s a quiet truth I’ve come to see more clearly with every season of my life:

Out of fear comes reaction. Out of joy, creation.

It’s simple. Stay with me.

Fear tightens. It contracts the breath, narrows the mind, and makes the world feel smaller. From fear, we lash out or shut down. We second-guess ourselves, overthink, or stay stuck in “what if.” We react. And those reactions often come fast — survival-mode fast — rooted in old patterns, past wounds, or the hope of avoiding pain.

Joy, on the other hand, opens. It expands. It doesn’t rush, because it’s not trying to defend anything. It simply expresses. From joy, we create. We write. We dream. We try something new, not because we know it will work, but because it’s alive inside us. Because it wants to be born.

And here's the twist most of us never learned growing up: Joy is not the reward for life finally being safe or perfect. It’s the doorway to living a life worth having.

Many of us — especially women in midlife — spent decades managing life. Managing children, managing emotions, managing expectations. So it makes sense that fear became a default lens: What will happen if I don’t do this right? What if I let someone down? What if I can’t start over at this age? We didn’t always call it fear. Sometimes it looked like control. Or perfectionism. Or over-functioning. But deep down, it was the same root: a lack of safety, a fear of not being enough, a quiet dread that we’d be abandoned or shamed if we messed up.

But fear is not the end of the story.

Joy is not a luxury for the lucky few. It’s not a fleeting emotion reserved for beach vacations or birthdays. It’s a compass. It’s a life force. It’s a clue that something inside you is ready to move beyond surviving into something far more sacred: creating.

Not just creating art — though yes, please paint, dance, write, sing — But also: creating peace. Creating new friendships. Creating a rhythm to your day that feels like freedom. Creating the version of you who no longer needs to apologize for taking up space or starting over.

So how do we shift?

It starts with awareness. When you catch yourself in a reaction — snapping, doubting, shrinking, striving — gently ask:“Is this coming from fear or joy?”

No shame. Just curiosity.

And when you find the smallest spark of joy, no matter how faint — follow it. Nurture it. It doesn’t have to be loud. Maybe it's a song you play in the kitchen while you make coffee. Maybe it’s saying yes to a walk instead of another hour of scrolling. Maybe it’s letting yourself imagine a future that feels a little more yours.

Because from that joy, you’ll create. Not a performance for others. But a life that reflects your truth.

You are not here to only react to what’s been. You are here to create what’s next.

Your affirmation for the week: I choose to create something new today. Isabelle