How do you express yourself?
From an early age, we are usually programmed to put a lid on difficult emotions. The problem with this is, where those feelings don’t dissipate, they fester. When emotions don’t have an outlet they lay in wait, underground, until something happens and then … pop! Like a cork – there’s an explosion of tears or rage, and you don’t know where it will land.
When I’m teaching, I often explain there are no negative emotions; all feelings are valid. If we have to split the difference, we could see them as those that connect us – like love and joy, and those that separate – like jealousy and spite.
We could also describe them as “heart-opening” or “heart-closing” sensations or experiences. You’ll know what I mean, if you transport yourself back in your mind to a time when you felt some bliss, your heart opens to the world around you. (Happiness is subjective like that, what brings me peace, won’t be the same for you). When we’re not ok though, we close down.
We know that how we express what we feel can move us towards recovery, or further away from it. It’s especially important that we find helpful outlets for our emotions, which when words don’t work, can take another form. Not everyone is comfortable with words. They’re clumsy, and don’t always articulate the message you’re trying to convey.
Drawing, painting and art forms like Zentangle, can be an expressive and therapeutic way to not only speak your truth, but calm the mind.
In this article, Janne Willems displays some of the 11,000+ drawings from 30 countries, showing moments strangers remembered from the past week. She gave them a postcard and asked them to draw a beautiful memory, explaining it doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect, just their definition of what that word means. It highlighted that even the small things make a big difference.
Here’a something you could try:
This week, set the intention to Style Your Moment. Grab a piece of paper or some card, and think of something that happened to you in the past week that you want to express. Pick a word that describes your week and then style it the way you feel it. You might use pens or pencils, or just use the word itself to create a design. If it’s a word that feels like it’s “heart-closing”, then consider if drawing it out and expressing it will bring you the peace you need right now. You could flip the word to what you want to feel instead if that feels more helpful. It’s your definition, your path to peace, so find a way to make it work for you.
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Copyright Delphi Ellis 2020
Helping You Sparkle™ 