Connect and Survive: Using Creativity to Grieve
My heart is heavy as I write today. The beautiful spirit who I considered my second little sister, my parents’ saw as their third daughter, and who WAS and always will be my sister’s soul mate passed away this week. Jessica was a significant presence in our family and the sillyness and laughter and companionship will be missed. I’m not sure how to help fill this huge whole that is left in my sister’s world.
But, I definitely know how to make it better and maybe even a little easier - even if for just a few hours.
Expressing Yourself
Creativity has so many different meanings. One thing we can all agree on, though, is that creativity requires you to search within yourself. To be creative, you have to step back from your ego, silence the negative critic and find peace with your vision - whatever that vision is for you. Creativity requires the courage to express yourself freely. Could there be a better complement for the grieving process?
Connecting with Your Grief
Everyone grieves differently. But, just like that unifying aspect of “creativity,” it’s all about finding the comfort and courage to express yourself in whatever way is best for you.
So, yesterday Amy and I purged our pain and grief with creativity. We laughed, cried, smiled, reminisced and remembered Jessica with our creative spirit. We wanted to honor Jessica and also find a way to make this whole mourning process make sense. Our creation solidifies all the reasons I love scrapbooking. Memories are an amazing and wondrous force of nature.
Three simple sentences in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way
One of the great misconceptions about the artistic life is that it entails great swathes of aimlessness. The truth is that the creative life involves great swathes of attention. Attention is a way to connect and survive.
Attention is a way to connect and survive…
Paying attention to our creative souls, Amy and I connected in order to survive yesterday. My sister has many hard days ahead, but I’m overcome with the joy that I could help her get through one of the harder ones with a little creativity.
We Love You, Jessica.
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