Creative Expression

First, I must apologize for not posting at all in October.  As we grow our presence on Facebook, Linked In, and our monthly newsletter, I sometimes lose track of what I have posted where.  That being said, I do want to share with you about the month of October... 

I attended my next to last set of classes for Expressive Arts.  True to the school's word, "intensive", it was an intensive focus on the business and organizational side of each student's expressive arts practice as each prepares to complete the program and put it to work in their world.  I still have a final class series to attend in January, followed by a six-week internship beginning in February, and a portfolio review that will complete this 2+ year learning process.  The use of movement, music, sound, visual art, poetry, collage, clay, painting, fiber, etc. continues to speak to me as it supports those impacted by a chronic diagnosis --  as the one diagnosed, a loved one in the 24/7 support role, and the professional and volunteers serving this population.  To have a means of expression for the emotions and feelings beneath the words is such a gift.  Myself, along with a few of my expressive arts colleagues, look forward to exploring this in more depth through AWBA in the coming months.

Tangent to that, AWBA had three great October/November experiences with Touch Drawing.  The four-session pilot program targeted to those with Parkinson's was wonderful.  The feedback was positive and most were surprised at the impact it had on their overall well-being during the time they were drawing.  One caregiver identified it as his "chill pill."  Two individuals shared that they were hesitant to come and were so glad that they did.  The field of expressive arts is better "experienced" than "explained."  It is often the simplest of creative experiences that yield the best results.

Our retreat/fund raiser at Gilgal Farm raised over $800 for our 2015 programs while a full room of participants engaged in Touch Drawing and visited with the horses at Gilgal.  Two people even set up their space in the horse barn itself and had one horse do a bit of touch drawing with her nose :)  Plans are underway for another retreat/fund raiser in the spring.   Stay tuned for that if you missed the October retreat and/or want a repeat!

Lastly, we were asked to visit a local Parkinson's Support Group to share Touch Drawing with their group.  Since time was limited this was presented as an introduction and demonstration.  The group worked together to create three drawings as the board was passed from person to person for each to make their mark.  One gentleman shared that he was "looking for the door" when the demonstration began.  He gave it a try and was surprised by how much he enjoyed the experience.   There was laughter as scribbles, squishes and pounding took place.  Play time and healing time for everyone.

Because of confidentiality, it is often a challenge to have pictures to remember the day.  But, here are  a few from the retreat day at Gilgal.

One participant framed his Touch Drawing board.  Beautiful.

The room is ready for a full house!

Such a simple process.

Touch Drawing in the horse barn.

Taking a break to visit with the horses.

When the day feels hard ...

There is a small, country church that I often drive by when running errands.  Since last week, its sign has read, "Life is hard.  Look up."  Honestly, I somewhat discounted the message with thoughts along the lines of, "I already know to look to God when things are hard."  I pretty much ignored the fact that it might have something new to say to me today.  Yesterday, without recalling the sign's literal meaning, I looked up.  These past few days and nights in Ohio have been absolutely stunning.  Cerulean blue sky, a wisp of cloud here and there, leaves beginning to break open their color box ~ truly take-your-breath-away moments.  

While my personal circumstances seem to clicking along in a kind and gentle way at the moment, any quick peek at the international news breaks my heart and can give way to moments of deep sadness and  helplessness of "what can I do"?  It seems there is always "something" just not right.  It may be a hardship in your own life, in the life of someone you love, in your immediate community, and, often, in the larger world in which we are all intimately connected in ways we often miss. 

Life is hard.  Look up.  Really.  Today, get outdoors wherever you are and in whatever environment in which you find yourself today.  Take a moment to look up.  Look out.  Look down.  This planet Earth is our home.  The Holy One created it for us.  The beauty is there, even on the darkest of days.  Take a moment to soak in Creation and deeply breathe.  That Sabbath moment invites us back to center to move through our day feeling just a bit more grounded and held in a holy embrace.

If you are photography nut as I am (amateurs included, as I am!!!), send a .jpg to me at director@myawba.org of your moment.  Simply provide your first name and your general location.  I will post these to share with others in another week or so.

Here is mine to get you started …

Judy, an early morning in Southeastern Ohio

Friday Blessings on Facebook

If this blog is your primary means of connection with AWBA, we want to make you aware of a new offering on Facebook.  You can find us on Facebook at "Always We Begin Again".  From our most recent newsletter (you can receive this monthly news by providing your name and email on the home page of our website at www.myawba.org):


In his book To Bless the Space Between Us, author John O'Donohue writes in the introduction, 

"It would be infinitely lonely to live in a world without blessing.  The word blessing evokes a sense of warmth and protection; it suggests that no life is alone or unreachable.  Each life is clothed in raiment of spirit that secretly links it to everything else.  Though suffering and chaos befall us, they can never quench that inner light of providence."

When we make the decision to begin again as one impacted by a chronic condition, this act of blessing seems a critical piece of our support system in making that daily and, sometimes moment to moment, choice for a new beginning.  Recently, AWBA began posting a brief quote, an image, and a blessing on its Facebook page every Friday morning.  The instant response indicated by likes, shares and new followers told us there are some seeking a sense of blessing.  If a "Friday Blessing" would support your journey, visit our Facebook page and follow us for this weekly blessing if you are not already doing so.  You can also access our page by clicking the Facebook icon on our website at www.myawba.org.  If you have a favorite quote and/or photo you have taken that you would like us to consider in the future, email it to director@myawba.org.  

Our New Logo

When determining where to place precious financial resources, AWBA has been very intentional about budgeting as much as much as possible directly to our programming.  Keeping our fees within reason for those tending to the unending flow of medical bills has been the best way for us to remain accessible to those we serve.  Your donations have helped tremendously in  that effort.  At the same time, we also appreciate the value of getting our message out in a way that is simple and consistent.   A logo helps identify us within the community we serve.  After almost four full years of ministry, our Board decided it was time to create a logo.   Two donors were generous enough to offer a reduced fee and an in kind donation to make this a reasonable project for AWBA at this time.

When meeting with our design team at Miller Strategic Marketing, their process helped us better identify our brand that resides within our mission and vision statements.  We determined that there are several things the logo needs to communicate:

~ AWBA offers a warm, friendly place where people are accepted just as they are.
~ It’s a friendly place where people can go to catch their breath and build faith and hope.
~ It’s a community of caring individuals who will provide loving support to those with chronic illnesses.

To capture the essence of this brand, the word we chose to “own” is “Community”, and the gate within the logo serves as the entrance to that community.  The team at Miller developed a look and feel to reflect this identity, and to communicate these important points to the public. We believe that the warm, relaxed type font combined with the gate image delivers the look and feel we were going for.   Our full color beloved gate image used up to this point will remain on our website, blog and in other places.  There is much affection for this "secret garden" image and it is our intention that the logo builds on that.

None of this is of any use if we do not deliver on what we desire to accomplish in those points mentioned.  If at any time there is something we can do to provide an even more welcoming community environment as one impacted by a chronic diagnosis,  please let us know.  

Welcome to our new logo.  Over the next few months it will begin to appear in our print materials as well as on the web.  One person noted that she likes the "connection" depicted with the letter "A" touching the "W".   What do you notice?

Learning to Walk in the Dark

Since moving to the country, my husband Roy and I are developing a new relationship with the darkness.  We travel winding back roads on our way home from evening meetings in the city hopeful that we remember the twists and turns, and that we can see the deer before they decide to appear in the middle of the road.  We are consistently aware of the lunar cycle anticipating the bright evenings offered by a  full moon, and the clarity of a starry night in the darkness of a new moon.  We took deep delight in gorgeous July nights when the lightening bugs danced amid the corn fields in front of our house and essentially made us lose track of time as we watched them prance and twinkle -- thousands of them lighting in that mysterious movement that only a creative God could have dreamed of.  To see the Milky Way after many years of suburban living is a deep delight that takes my breath away.  We have adjusted to the darkness of our bedroom at night without the street lights.  We keep a night light on in our bathroom but there were a few "stumbles" as we re-learned furniture placement and how to walk in the dark.  Roy rises at 4 a.m. on weekdays and is the most skilled at navigating the darkness.  

As I have l made these adjustments and observations, I am mindful of the metaphorical "dark" that many walk when living with a chronic diagnosis.  I often hear people speak of dark night of the soul, living in darkness, a time of confusion and darkness, pushing away the dark -- none of it good and, often, lacking hope that light will come.   On one level, I understand that light is so much more beautiful when experienced within the darkness as I have experienced with this move.  Yet, when it comes to the seeming "dark" places of sadness, loss and difficulty, any sign of light or beauty is so much harder for me to claim.  I can see it in retrospect but it can take a very long time to be known by me.

I am a fan of writer Barbara Brown Taylor and knew that her most recent book, Learning to Walk in the Dark had been released earlier this year.  In the chaos of our move, this fell off the radar and I forgot about it.  The title found its way to me again a few weeks ago.  I found a copy at the library and could not put it down.  When someone is impacted by a book as I was with this one, the first response is that "everyone must read this book."  We all know that is not often the truth of the situation.   It is simply a book that found its way to us at just the right time.  However, I do pass it along as an option to consider if you find yourself navigating a season of spiritual darkness.  Ms. Taylor offers a perspective that we don't often hear taught but is one that, at its core, I suspect many of us have wondered about and couldn't quite articulate.  She writes,

"… I have learned things in the dark that I could never have learned in the light, things that have saved my life over and over again, so that there is really only one logical conclusion.  I need darkness as much as I need light."

Whether or not you pursue this book for yourself,  I pray that your seasons of darkness do not overwhelm and that points of light make themselves known when and where they are most needed.

For Parents of Children With Autism

AWBA is preparing for two upcoming programs featuring Touch Drawing.  Recently we have been contacted by parents of children with Autism about their interest in our developing a program to serve them and, possibly, their children with a Touch Drawing experience.  If this is an event that would interest you, click the survey link below to provide us with your input.  The survey includes eight short questions and should take only a moment of your time.  If you know of others who might be interested, please provide them with this link and ask them for their input. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2X3Q99N

Are You a Leaner or a Lifter?

What is it that causes us to make things more difficult than they need to be?  I heard a wonderful message on Sunday from a retired United Methodist pastor.  It is to important to keep our ears open to the wisdom of those who have walked this earth longer than we have!  He was talking about our tendency to be a "leaner" more than a "lifter."  When I choose the hard way, the worrisome way, the anxious way, the distrusting way, the doubting way, etc. everything in me leans and becomes a weight on myself and on others.  That is not how I have chosen to live my life these days.  To be a lifter is to choose being in the present, trusting that God will provide the right thing at the right time, and inviting hope more than doubt.  It is a daily beginning again to choose this better way to live.  

I am growing into my artist self (she is definitely a "lifter"!) and there have been times that I have made the creative process more difficult than it needed to be.  I recall one day last spring so incredibly beautiful that I had to capture it somehow.   I tried to paint it but God's creation so overwhelmed my senses that day that everything I painted was inadequate.  I then chose the simple way to capture only the colors of the blooms that caught my attention.  When I look at this picture below, I remember the colors, the warmth of the sun on my skin, the smell of spring - it all comes back.  Rather than leaning in to create a perfect image, I am now lifted whenever I see this image.

I am also relearning how to pray in a way that is "lifting".  Poet Mary Oliver shares that desire so well …

Praying

It doesn't have to be

the blue iris, it could be

weeds in a vacant lot, or a few

small stones; just

pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try

to make them elaborate, this isn't

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.

~ Mary Oliver ~

(Thirst)

Thank you, Bob, for a "lifting" message as I continue to re-create a more life-giving way of being present in the world.  Thank you Mary for always stating the truth so simply.

For those who have not visited our Facebook page recently, we are now posting a Friday morning blessing if that would be a support for your journey.

May you choose an attitude of lifting for this day and may you, then, be equipped to lift others.