@kat_reynolds is one of those people who makes the room feel warm. She likes smiling. I would go as far as saying it’s the thing she is best at! She smiles while she takes pictures and I imagine it is what she does while she writes. This lovely lady is open, honest, kind and vulnerable. I feel very happy to know her and nominate her for worlds most epic solo dance party artist
What experiences in life shaped you the most?
I don’t know if I can attribute any one experience to be the primary source or all encompassing influence in my personal development. Among many others, Travel has opened my heart and mind in more ways than I can count, but the first thing that started the journey for me? I would have to say riding horses.
It really taught me to listen. It solidified my understanding of a soul, and my relationship to spirituality. It showed me my strength, and my softness. It taught me what it meant to work hard. Really hard. It taught me about myself and gave me unbelievable self awareness. I can attribute most of my grit, my perseverance, my down and dirty attitude, etc to this experience. Horses are powerful creatures and I am beyond grateful to have learned so many lessons from them.
Who is your biggest influence and why? My motto is “we are all students and teachers.” I have had fleeting interactions on the street with strangers that have had as profound of an impact as any. These little wake up calls and shifts In perspective have come from so many different sources. My grandma, my parents, past lovers, a homeless man, a dying mother, a woman who did not share the same language, children who remind me to be present, friends who I consider family… They have all given me new eyes, have taught me incredibly valuable lessons, and have showed me wisdom within myself.
What do you feel is your mission/purpose in life? I haven’t always been certain of my direction in life, but I have always known my purpose was to “inspire” — it came to me at 13 during an adolescent existential crisis, and I’ve just rolled with it ever since. The ‘how’ and ‘what’ have evolved over time, but the why has always been to INSPIRE. To lead by example so others can awaken to their best self. To always be introspective. To shine a light on humanity so we can see the good in any stranger. To eliminate the idea of separateness. To breed compassion. Not only for others, but for ourselves. And hopefully to inspire people to live their life purpose and calling. Live their truth….
sing or dance? Can I say both? I find both to be incredibly cathartic. Each gets your energy moving. Each is healing in its own way. The Egyptians believed in the power of sound healing. Mantras serve this same purpose. When I sing (despite the fact that Im not the best singer in the world) it is so powerful, it reverberates through my whole body waking up different parts of me that may have been sleeping. Gets my chi moving… Eastern medicine associate different sounds with different energy centers of the body. I believe in this wholeheartedly. It calms my heart when I sing… Nevertheless. If I must choose, my answer is dance. To me, dance is raw, primal, ancestral, intuitive, wild…. It is sooo freeing. Like singing, It gets my energy moving, it is such a release…. Its just in my blood. I love it so much.
Draw or write? I am an artist. For me, art is physical, much like dancing. I dance my way onto a canvas. But lately, the written word has had a resounding home in me. Connecting to my intellectual being. I know the paintbrush will find its way back to me when I’m ready to express myself that way again. I think we ebb and flow in that way. And I’m ok with that. We need very different things at different points in our lives. We speak different languages at different stages. This is how we untangle ourselves. And for now writing is the best tool for that.
Favorite word and least favorite word? Snuggle or Squishy… least favorite? Trump.
What will destroy the world and what will save it? We will. I think anything that is capable of creation is capable of destruction. What parts of human nature will destroy the world? Apathy, greed, disconnection, the notion of separateness. What will save it? Compassion.
What are things that bring you joy in the world? Kindness, conversation, connection and cookies… lots of cookies
What does being a woman mean to you? This has been a crazy journey for me— coming into my femininity. I didn’t have many truly vulnerable and intimate female relationships growing up. At least not in the way that I do now. And it took me a lot of time, self work and listening to my heart and gut to open up and to be in this space.
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In that process I have found that being a woman is finding strength In softness. It is connecting to your inner nurturer and protector, it is learning that you were made to create a safe haven in your arms for others to land. To be an outpouring of love. It’s an energy- a life force of its own when you feel that and connect with a women who is in touch with her divine femininity. She is powerful yet she is vulnerable and raw. She is Yin embodied, but recognizes and honors her yang. Quiet in her own way, she walks with reverence. Her power and energy is magnetic. It draws you in. She does not need to speak because her presence speaks for itself. That is a woman who is Unstuck. These qualities are embodied by every woman that you have shone a light on in this space.
When you look in the mirror what do you see?
I see a soul that has learned a lot of lessons in this life. A lot of hard and beautiful lessons. I see a soul that is not limited to this body. That this body is a tool I’ve been gifted with—a vessel, a a teacher, a learning experience.
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It’s so easy to criticize and nitpick … getting caught up in the way we change, the way we age, the way our bodies look that day. Looking in the mirror, and really taking the time to see oneself, everything else just fades away. All details that are normally seen as imperfections, I see as perfections. All the things that make me, me. Looking into the eyes, I see the eternal- the unchanging… It’s out of body, almost like staring into the eyes of another. Maybe its the soul’s recognition of all of it’s incarnations, or of its journey in general. There is an overwhelming sense of compassion and forgiveness in that moment. And above all, love…an overwhelming sense of self love.
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PS: I highly recommend “mirror mediations” It had been a while since Ive done one and I was grateful for the reminder. In the day to day we look past ourselves… I mean, how often is it that we actually look in the mirror and SEE ourselves. Not fixing, adjusting or perfecting - but just witnessing ourselves as we are?
How do you keep yourself psychologically healthy?
In no particular order:
Water, salt or fresh
Wilderness- quiet solitary connection to the earth
Human connection
Snuggling animals
Philosophical conversations, good books, podcasts.
Movement - surfing, climbing, yoga & dancing
Stillness - meditation, listening to records on the floor, time to reflect
Art - in whatever form feels good
This is my daily spiritual cocktail of survival.
Mantra of the moment? If it comes, let it. if it goes, let it…. Be like water
Favorite quote?
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
-Aristotle
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On that same note. I love this excerpt from the poem Desiderata:
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
What do you want to tell men who don't understand? Listen. Let go of your notions of what it means to be a ‘man,’ and of the attachment to living up to that role/definition. Soften into the spaces in-between, be vulnerable. Forgive yourself. You are a student and a teacher. Welcome in wisdom from others and do your best to be an example in every moment.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
-The four agreements
Best place ever traveled? Such a hard question for me to answer. I always say Mexico is my favorite country. Which is true. But in truth. Any place that has shifted my perception
of my frame of reference for reality. Generally this place is impoverished. And I am reminded of how our life is ‘frittered away by detail’ of how simple life is and can be. In this place, the people are more grateful, despite the fact that they have so little. There is a more raw human connection and in some cases a more spiritual connection to the land... it reminds me what life is about.
We are getting on a plane tomorrow, where are we going? Zihuatanejo ;) I say this because this is how Michael (the glorious man who is behind the camera) and I inadvertently connected… in truth. South America, I haven’t been and I have felt called there for quite some time. Im in love with raw and vibrant latin cultures. I have this dream to disappear down south with nothing but film cameras and pen and paper. Except, we aren’t flying. We are driving. :)
Why do you write? I simply must…It’s a channel. I write to understand, to feel, to unfold. To connect to myself. To others.
Why do you take pictures? I couldn’t always find the words for the things I saw or felt. I just wanted to share them. As is. The kind of beauty that leaves you speechless - sharing the common humanity we have.
How should I love? Most importantly, we must learn to know and love ourselves first. Love should not be a search to fill the void or mend broken pieces of our hearts. While that is an amazing gift that love gives us, until we explore all of our deepest parts, learn them intimately and love them on our own and without condition, we can’t expect to find the love we dream of.
That being said. Love yourself how you would want to be loved. And love others in the same way.
In the process, if love finds you. Let it sweep you away. There are so many lessons in love that we can’t experience alone. And loving is what we are on this earth to do.
So my answer is this: Love unconditionally. Unapologetically. Madly. Deeply. Truthfully. Wholly….. Be Vulnerable. Raw. Reveal your shadow self. Speak your truth and ask for truth in return. Be humble. Be open and kind, receptive, and understanding. You are bringing two hearts into one place. Be gentle….. Be honest, kind… Learn as much as you can. Be open. And choose love every day. If you are no longer choosing love. Do a serious reassessment. And if things don’t make sense anymore. Walk away. Because that is love too…Love is what brings us closest to ourselves. Love in a way that brings you to that pure place.