The Dragonfly That Found Me in a Tea Shop

📍Location: Teavana + Phoenix, AZ | October 2018

I’ve always said I’d never get a tattoo unless it meant something deeply sacred to me — not trendy, not impulsive, not “just because.”

Years ago, shortly after signing my divorce paperwork, I took myself on an Artist’s Date inspired by The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. You’re supposed to go somewhere by yourself to reconnect with your creativity — no agenda, just curiosity.

I went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch and still had time to wander, so I walked into a Teavana tea shop. I thought they only sold tea, but I was wrong — they sold dishware too. Beautiful, heavy, intentional pieces. I was immediately drawn to a Japanese cast iron teapot with a large dragonfly etched across the top.

I stood there for a while, just admiring it. I didn’t have the money at the time to buy it, but something about that teapot — and specifically, the dragonfly — held me still.

That’s when the woman working there came over and said,“Did you know the dragonfly symbolizes new beginnings, good fortune, love, and romance?”

She was just selling dishware, unaware she’d triggered a major moment in my life. She handed me a small brown card with the meanings printed on it. I asked to keep it. She said yes. And I did — for years.

That moment felt like God was handing me confirmation. I didn’t know what I was walking toward yet — I hadn’t written my first song, or re-launched my photography business. I was just a woman on the edge of a new life, freshly single, quietly rebuilding.

But in that moment, something clicked.

I knew: This is the first tattoo I’ll ever get.

Not that day. Not that year, even. I sat with that decision for a long time. But when I was finally ready, I walked into a tattoo shop and had that same dragonfly inked on the inside of my ankle — the place where movement and memory meet.

I eventually bought the teapot, too. It lives in my home now as a daily reminder that transformation doesn’t always happen all at once. Sometimes it brews quietly in the background, waiting for the right moment to pour.

🌀 Your Turn

Have you ever wandered into a store and felt like something found you?

Maybe it wasn’t just a teapot. Maybe it was a sign that something sacred — something just for you — was trying to get your attention.

Drop your stories in the comments. Or better yet, take yourself on an Artist’s Date and see what finds you.

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