“The true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
George Bernard Shaw
How can we meet our true needs? Is it possible to regenerate ourselves if we have been destroyed harmed, excluded? What might help us live as a “splendid torch” doing for the whole community of life what we can?
The world we live in has many forms of trauma and also many creative ways to cope and the possibility of a healing response.
I believe the foundations of well-being are accessible because, I practiced as an art therapist for 25 years. My practice was inspired by and contributed to the nature therapy and related healing movements and my connection to creative expression and living systems. I share some of the synthesis of that understanding in this thread. I hope it contributes to people finding their path to balance in personal, family and community contexts and to “burn as brightly as possible“.
“Living never wore one out so much as the effort not to live.”
Anaïs Nin
Cailleach 