More than Art: Therapy, Healing, Purpose
by Marina Safina, Survivor, Sculptural Couture Designer
The words “you have cancer” are terrifying. When I first heard my diagnosis, I felt like I wanted to run far away somewhere empty and just scream. I could not even cry at first because my mind could not fully understand what had happened. I loved life. I loved traveling, creating memories, laughing, dreaming. And suddenly I kept asking myself: Why me? Why did this happen? What is this trying to teach me?
Over time, I realized something very important. I had spent so much of my life living for everyone else that I forgot how to truly live for myself. I was a good mother, a supportive wife, a loyal friend, and a hardworking person. I tried to be everything for everyone around me. But somewhere along the way, I stopped listening to myself, my dreams, and the creative voice inside me. And strangely, this illness became the moment that forced me to wake up and reconnect with who I truly was.
At the same time, my journey was not only about cancer. I also went through the emotional pain of leaving my homeland because of the war in Ukraine. It is an incredibly difficult feeling when the country where you were born no longer feels like home, when you carry pain, confusion, and sadness inside yourself because innocent people are suffering and dying. Those emotions deeply affected me emotionally and physically. Stress, fear, uncertainty, and the feeling of losing part of your identity became another layer of my healing journey.
Starting over in America from Russia was both frightening and empowering. I had to build a completely new life from the beginning — adapting to a different culture, learning new rules, and finding my place in a country that was entirely new to me. But even through all of this, I understood that I could not allow myself to give up. Behind me stood my family — my children, my husband, the people who needed my love, strength, and support. I still had to be a caring mother, a loving wife, and a strong person for the people closest to me.
I decided very early that I would not treat cancer as the end of my life. I treated it as something serious that needed attention, patience, healing, and strength — step by step, day by day. Of course it was difficult. Cancer changes you internally. It changes the way you see the world, people, time, and even yourself. But in a strange way, it also opened my eyes to how beautiful life really is. We live in such an incredible world full of nature, colors, light, movement, and inspiration, but so many of us stop noticing it because we become trapped inside routines, stress, and fear.
One of the biggest things that helped me heal emotionally was reconnecting with beauty and creativity. I started paying attention to nature more deeply — flowers, forests, oceans, sunsets, and the feeling of fresh air. I truly believe that beautiful places recharge the human soul. If you cannot go to the ocean, go to the forest. If you cannot go to the forest, simply find somewhere peaceful and beautiful where you can breathe and feel alive again. That is often where ideas begin to appear.
For me, creativity became more than art. It became therapy, healing, and purpose. Because of my treatment, I often have sleepless nights, but even during those moments my mind continues overflowing with ideas. I dream about designs, flowers, sculptures, fabrics, and artistic visions. Instead of allowing fear and exhaustion to consume me, I try to transform that energy into creativity. Even when I feel tired, I continue creating because the feeling I receive from bringing ideas to life is stronger than the exhaustion itself.
Seeing joy, wonder, and emotion in other people’s eyes gives me energy that is difficult to describe. When someone smiles because of something I created, I feel that I am moving in the right direction. It reminds me that beauty has power. Even a small moment of inspiration or happiness can change someone’s day. Making another person feel joy, even for a moment, gives me strength and reminds me why I continue doing what I do.
I think many of us forget to appreciate the world around us because life becomes repetitive and overwhelming. We become so used to everything we have that we stop truly seeing it. In some ways, illness forces us to slow down and reevaluate everything. It teaches us to look at life differently, to appreciate moments more deeply, and to stop postponing our dreams. I truly believe we should live this life fully, almost like one deep breath, because time is precious. And even during the hardest moments, there is always hope, purpose, beauty, and a reason to keep moving forward.
