Becoming Kindlight

Ashley McDougall

Hi, I'm Ash. I'm the face behind the Instagram account @BecomingKindlight and creator of Kindlight Post. I am a watercolor and multimedia artist as well as a printmaker. During a traumatic IVF journey, my therapist asked me to start journaling. It had been a long time since I had an active journaling practice, and honestly, the blank page was staring me down. I thought a guided journal could be a gentle entry point. I looked high and low and only found ones that were too clinical, impersonal, superficial, or religious. I wanted a Goldilocks journal that felt authentic. When my search ended, I started writing my own. What to call my journals? I landed on "Kindlight" as it brought to mind images of an inner light. Sharing your light, being a light, feeling a faint spark. It felt like the prompts I was writing for myself were shining a kind light on my experience and helping me process emotions that I hadn't been able to verbalize. My writing unlocked something inside me and I dove into different ways to express my creativity. My hope is that my art and your writing might inspire you to explore your creativity.