I was feeling blue and a friend reminded me or maybe it was even scolded me, "Are you doing your art?" Hmmm…just like when someone reminds a loved one..."Are you taking your medicine?!"
I have been in a funk.
I am doing all the right things: exercising, eating right, taking my days off from work, playing with the dog, reading good fiction...
I also am truly finding fulfillment in my work. This very busy fall has been filled with overflowing creative energy and enthusiastic leaders.
So...why am I in this funk?
I look out and see that others are hurting. People I know personally and all those people and nations that fill the news. It all weighs heavy on my heart. I don't think the answer is to not watch the news. I live in the world. I am a part of the world. But I need some perspective, a way to be in the world but not of the world.
How can I remember the life-giving peace that is around me and yet not let it insulate me to the hurt that is also there? The answer to this question for me is re-membering the creative life-giving spirit that is in me.
I recently stood at the edge of Lake Michigan - shoes off, toes in the water. I found a way to filter out the noise of the traffic and hear only the water and the silence that surrounded me. My vision was filled with the perspective of the infinite; all the things I cannot see and all the things that are beyond my control and understanding. And yet standing there acknowledging my lack of control, I felt peace. A peace that passes all
understanding.
So after my friend’s gentle scolding, I got out my art supplies and made this collage. The words are cut out from just one section of Friday's newspaper. They are all the things that are heavy on my heart. Yes they are bold, but I am also surrounded by the peace I felt that day in creation. The water below has the mantra "Be Still" from Psalm 46. The sun/moon image contains a quote from Pope Francis from the same day’s paper: "accompany them in mercy."
This physical creative "doing" has helped. I feel that same peace I felt on the beach. My jaw has unclenched. I feel a returning balance.
It is time to go back out and be in the world.
Keep doing all the things that bring me life.
And not forget to do a little art!
~Pam
I have been in a funk.
I am doing all the right things: exercising, eating right, taking my days off from work, playing with the dog, reading good fiction...
I also am truly finding fulfillment in my work. This very busy fall has been filled with overflowing creative energy and enthusiastic leaders.
So...why am I in this funk?
I look out and see that others are hurting. People I know personally and all those people and nations that fill the news. It all weighs heavy on my heart. I don't think the answer is to not watch the news. I live in the world. I am a part of the world. But I need some perspective, a way to be in the world but not of the world.
How can I remember the life-giving peace that is around me and yet not let it insulate me to the hurt that is also there? The answer to this question for me is re-membering the creative life-giving spirit that is in me.
I recently stood at the edge of Lake Michigan - shoes off, toes in the water. I found a way to filter out the noise of the traffic and hear only the water and the silence that surrounded me. My vision was filled with the perspective of the infinite; all the things I cannot see and all the things that are beyond my control and understanding. And yet standing there acknowledging my lack of control, I felt peace. A peace that passes all
understanding.
So after my friend’s gentle scolding, I got out my art supplies and made this collage. The words are cut out from just one section of Friday's newspaper. They are all the things that are heavy on my heart. Yes they are bold, but I am also surrounded by the peace I felt that day in creation. The water below has the mantra "Be Still" from Psalm 46. The sun/moon image contains a quote from Pope Francis from the same day’s paper: "accompany them in mercy."
This physical creative "doing" has helped. I feel that same peace I felt on the beach. My jaw has unclenched. I feel a returning balance.
It is time to go back out and be in the world.
Keep doing all the things that bring me life.
And not forget to do a little art!
~Pam
