Episode #37: The "Window of Tolerance" with Amelia Larson, Working Mother & Artist Artwork

The Working Mother Experience

It's The Working Mother Experience podcast. Weekly, we will alternate between interviewing the artists (it could be you) and discussing hot topics related to working and mothering. We promise, it will lift your spirits, make you laugh and think, and deeply connect you to your experience and the experience of other working mothers. The Working Mother Experience inspires ambitious women to honestly and creatively share what it means to work and mother. Our goal is to collect and compile 250 pieces of individual art, painted by working mothers around the globe, to showcase the richness and diversity of what it means to mother and work.

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The Working Mother Experience

Episode #37: The "Window of Tolerance" with Amelia Larson, Working Mother & Artist

November 17, 2023 • Working Mother Experience

In this episode, we connect with Amelia Larson, Clinical Social Worker, entrepreneur, working mother, former foster parent and artist.

Using the analogy of the "Window of Tolerance", Amelia helps us to understand how, when, and why our respective and metaphorical windows start to get tighter and tighter, letting little to no breeze through. She helps us to understand that when this happens, we teeter on the edge of burnout and illness for we need fresh air, movement and light to flourish. Further, Amelia shares that she believes mothers to be too zoomed in, often focusing only on getting the task done to move to the next and that will benefit from zooming out, taking a broader, more holistic picture. She gives practical tips on how to explore and address this.

Amelia's art showcases a technique she often uses with clients, asking them to allow the pen or paintbrush to move across the page as it desires, with no focus or destination in mind. She discusses the benefits of this approach and the curious findings when one starts to explore the meanderings of their brush after they finish.

We hope you enjoy this podcast as much as we did! A huge shoutout of appreciation to Amelia for just saying 'yes' and signing up for our first exhibit and workshop event on October 19.