Artist Nesha Mistry admits strength and resilience has carried her through tough times, but sometimes “I want someone to carry my wings,” she says. A chance encounter with a kind stranger showed her a way to leave the darkness behind, find balance in her life, and live the life she wants. The first step: rediscover her true self.
As a child, Nesha was nicknamed ‘the squirrel of the house’ because she was always rustling around creating something new, inspired by her fashion designer Mum and DIY Dad. Growing older and more self-aware, bullying at school led Nesha to retreat and she “stopped being herself”. For a time, intense stress temporarily stole the sight from her right eye. When the time came to work towards her exams, Nesha found fresh motivation from new teachers who saw her potential and taught in a way she could connect with. Her grades went from Es and Ds to As and Bs with creative subjects the focus, and once school was over, Nesha was finally “having the time of my life,” she says, until a poor work environment and bad breakup set her back: “Everything crumbled again,” she reflects. “I spiralled and felt “anxious and depressed”.
By the time Nesha met the kind stranger, she had one desperate question:
How do you get out of a dark space?
Reconnecting with your 3-year-old self
The kind stranger sent Nesha a guided meditation that “makes you think of your younger self when you’re around three years old,” she explains. “That night? I was done, thinking I don’t belong here. But then I listened to the meditation and I slept on it, and it clicked in.” This was the beginning of the rediscovery of her inner child and a path to healing.
“I pictured this small person with a bob and thought, no, I can’t do that to her. The next morning I just wanted to paint. My Mum had these old acrylic paints and I didn’t have canvases, but I had paper. I zoned out for eight hours. I had the radio on in the background and I was sitting on the floor painting this Buddha, and I just felt the Buddha had this sense of calm I needed. I forgot to eat. I forgot to drink because I was so engrossed in it. Something clicked; I need to continue doing art and painting, and then a business idea came from playing around with textures and design.”
These days, Nesha is back to being the ‘squirrel’ she was as a child, immersing herself in bright colours and experimenting with different mediums for Nesha Canvas Creations, seeing every creation as a blank canvas ready for her to add meaning.
“If the work I do means someone has a chance to open up about something that brings them back to life, or they can connect with their real self, that brings me fulfilment,” says Nesha.
Here are her tips for reconnecting with your inner child:
1. Speak to those who knew you as a child
If you’re fortunate to have people around you who knew you at three years old, ask them:
- What was I doing?
- What was I like?
They could be family or “people you grew up with,” says Nesha, and they can help you, “piece by piece, putting back together what your identity was back then because this is your pure authentic self”.
2. Try different things to find what fits
The fun part, says Nesha, is trying different things that can help you reconnect with that inner child you’re trying to reach. “You might think something looks cool, but it’s the actual doing part that reconnects you back with your inner child because you might not really like it, but something else you might love. It’s that click and connection that’s authentic ― it’s a feeling you can’t explain.”
“Dabbling in a few different things really helped me figure out and tap into my inner child. Those memories sort of came back and it just felt right.”
3. Learn to understand yourself
When Nesha was in her most troubled times, she often felt lonely. “I remember doing all of this journey on my own mainly because I wasn’t comfortable sharing, or I didn’t have the right support.” She had support from family and some close friends, but “there’s only so much support people can offer you,” she says. “The loneliness came from a lack of understanding of myself and not being able to explain to other people that didn’t understand me.” One of the most important steps you can take, says Nesha, is to move away from people who aren’t helping you and “be brave enough to do this for yourself.”
“Society makes you think you have to do everything in pairs or with people, but actually the strength comes from doing things on your own and figuring yourself out.”
4. Tune into supportive voices
When Nesha was being bullied at school, her Mum would drop her at the gates and always tell her: ‘You’re going to have a good day,” and all these years later, those words still come back to Nesha, even when her Mum isn’t around. Now, she’s sharing her innate creative talents and great courage she’s found to help others celebrate their true selves and live the life they want to live, on their own terms.
Follow and connect with Nesha @nesha_canvascreations on Instagram.
Thanks Nesha for allowing yourself to be vulnerable with us ✨
Will you share a tip, trick, practice or story that helps others find or grow inner strength? ✨ Submit it here: /stories
