|
Most ideas are born out of necessity. The concept
of the fifteen-minute artist came to me out
of my own need.
As a psychotherapist, I work daily with people
who struggle with emotional pain: feelings that
take up residency in the body and torment the mind.
Grief is one of those necessary, yet painful experiences.
My mother died nine years ago. Although it was
a predictable death, her loss jarred the foundation
of my life. I was no longer someone's daughter.
I felt orphaned and alone. I took a week off from
my practice and soon realized that grief was not
going to pay attention to any timetable. Grief had
come to be my companion for a while.
As I returned to work, I worried that my own emotions
might intrude on clients' therapy time. I had visions
of melting into sobs and running from my office
in tears. I didn't want that for me or for my clients.
The idea of setting aside grief time came to me
through different sources. This is not a cure-all
or a fix-it-quick remedy. It is a tool to be used
for the creative, gentle journey through feelings.
The practice began with making an appointment and
commitment to myself. Each day at a scheduled time,
I sat in a safe, quiet and private place. My theory
was that if I gave grief expression, it would not
spill out at unpredictable times. The appointment
had a definite beginning and ending, lasting fifteen
minutes.
For the first few days, I sat alone. My mind wandered
and the fifteen minutes ended. Grief continued to
hunt me down at odd times and burst forth. The whole
idea seemed to be doomed to failure.
Then it occurred to me that if I was making an appointment
with grief, the space had to invite the emotion
in. I brought a picture of my mother one-day, music
another, and then a candle, some paper, color crayons,
pencils, paint, a toy drum and noisemakers. Grief
finally found me in my space, visited and found
its creative voice.
Over time, the practice evolved into a loose pattern
of meditation and then some form of creative expression.
I danced out my feelings, banged on the drum, wrote
poetry, painted pictures and noticed that when the
time was up I felt satisfied, settled and calm.
The experience of grief was being transformed. The
practice was releasing the feelings from my body,
freeing my mind to live in the present moment.
As a psychotherapist, I have shared this tool with
clients individually and in groups. It is adaptable
to most situations. It is a useful method to express
feelings, set goals, redirect energy, reduce stress,
decrease confusion and increase creativity. The
keys for success are patience with self, time, a
conducive setting and a willingness to participate
without an attachment to outcome. This experience
is a return to the instinctive, imaginative place
of natural healing.
An important part of using this tool is closing
down the experience and walking away at the end
of the fifteen minutes. This takes discipline and
determination.
Once a week, review the work. This may mean taking
time to remember the dancing or the drumming. At
the end of a week, there may be poems to read, colors
on paper and pieces of art. Whatever symbolic material
remains, view it with a kind eye and give it attention.
It is important to recognize insights that have
emerged and to observe transformation in progress.
The practice of creative expression has been a
vehicle for change and peaceful resolution in my
life and in the lives of others. It has also produced
some interesting works of art, which chronicle life's
inner journey.
|
