The Art of Healing

"Purple Rein" - a private commission.  Mixed media on gallery-wrapped canvas, 18" x 24" SOLD

A topsy-turvy week, which included me literally thrown up into the air (only to land on my head), the loss of a dear furry friend, and the joy of being alive, walking and surrounded by love and good mojo.

In the midst of this tailspin, a private commission request from a sweet stranger who connected with a previously sold piece on ArtFinder.  When I asked for any specifics she wanted (color palette, themes, props, etc) she responded that she trusted the creator and the magic of the creating...how beautiful!  How MAGICAL!  How humbling.  And a perfect way to move me from the reclining chair to my studio, to pick up the paint and begin re-beginning.  As I reassemble and heal the pieces of my body and my spirit, the pieces of this character assembled on the canvas, bringing me joy and a feeling of introspection and completeness.  

There is an art to healing.  I am learning this as I go along.  Push a little, rest a little.  Listen a lot.  Do less than you think you can, then do more than your body wants to do.  Bend the leg further than is comfortable.  Get off the leg even if you want to do one more thing first.  Turn your head to the left and to the right, even though turning hurts.  Then stop turning it and grab the ice pack. Start and stop.  Push and pull.  These are the mechanics of re-beginning.

There is a beauty to all of this.  Overwhelming support, messages, phone calls, visitors.  Good energy and love flowing all around.  Connections where there were none.  Compassion and community where there were only strangers before.  Home-made cookies from youngsters next door, who gladly ate them for me. :)  Kindness and generosity.  There is no room for self-pity or sadness in this protective cocoon of goodness and love.

Will I get on a bike again?  I do not know.  Maybe.  Or perhaps I'll get a kayak and enjoy the soft waters of the lake behind our home.  Maybe my yoga mat will be my new daily companion.  I will wait until I heal to decide.

Will we adopt another furry companion?  No, not now.  This last pooch was our first together as a married couple, and he survived many other pets.  He is almost too legendary to replace.  And no one could take his place.  But there is a heap load of good I can do in helping a local animal shelter.  I know our scrappy rescue dog would have wanted that.