My hands don’t always look pretty; they’re often scuffed up, nicks and cuts, my nails get beat up and break. And on more and more occasions, lately, I feel the callouses on my palms. 
But I have had paint under my nails and in my hair, and I have felt old woods that have lived four times as long as I have; and breathed new life into them. My hands, with callouses, have felt the connection of creating something from nothing. When I write, I feel connected to others, and creating makes me feel connected to myself and my Creator. When you create, you grow. You make mistakes, you learn, and yes, even get callouses. I used to think the callouses were unsightly, they used to make me feel less feminine. I don’t feel that way anymore. Because, I understand that I have earned every one of those callouses; that because of those experiences of creating something, the experiences of making mistakes and expanding, those callouses developed. And then, they don’t seem so unsightly, and as a creator, I feel in tune with my femininity, even empowered & closer to who I am, more authentic. I believe in Cultivating a Life. I am a Creator. I am an Artist. 
And I think we all are; in our own ways. And as long as you have callouses, a part of you that has toughened up to protect you; made you less than perfect, and sometimes, even a little scuffed up, well…that just means you have experienced. And as long as you live as a Creator, and not someone that life happens to, you grow; you expand.