In my coaching practice I'm noticing the inevitable psychological impacts of the pandemic deepening, even as we approach a more lasting "new normal". Increased anxiety and depression, disconnection and low motivation, just to name a few. For some of us whose lives were too busy and stressful, there was a momentary sigh of relief as the spinning world came to a halt. Yet we also diminished an essential ingredient of our humanity: connection with the abundance of life and love. I also know from training in trauma therapy and my own self-healing that we need ways to thaw out after overwhelmingly stressful life events. I've said it many times and I'll say it again: art has been a profound medicine for my own anxiety, self-doubt, and for any of the places in my psyche I tend to hide out. It nudges me outside my bubble to notice the magnificence of the world around me, the magic of creating something that wasn't there before, and the persistent admonition to let go of control if I truly want to live a life of love and beauty. Art as a ritualized practice is potent. It calls to the spirits to make room for possibility, for freshness, aliveness. For connection to life, ourselves, and those we share our art with.
As we emerge from Covid, we could all use rituals to thaw out from the global freeze of lockdown. Letting our intuition take us for a ride is one. Indulging our senses in a nature walk is another. Ceremony with others might be the most transformative. Collectively evoking a state of wonder, awe, curiosity might be the precise medicine we need to not only recover from the past year and a half, but also to compost it, alchemize it and enrich ourselves with the hidden meaning it holds. As I write this I'm letting workshop ideas take shape - both online and in person with the hope of helping us all thaw out and reclaim our full aliveness next year. I can't wait to share these ideas as they crystalize. For those on my email list, you will have an opportunity to beta test a sample class and ultimately join me for live meditations and art-making sessions. May we find ways to come together, compost together, and reawaken together.