It's fair to say that growing up is learning to navigate the world of emotions. Sometimes our emotions overwhelm us, and we might want to check out or ignore our feelings–or to project them on the surrounding people.
But difficult emotions show us where our growth lies. By engaging in a dialogue with challenging states of mind, we invite the healing required for emotional maturity to take root. With both options, we relinquish our agency in dealing with emotions and give away our power to heal.
Creativity Heals
I remember sitting on the front stoop of my apartment in Key West as a teenager, sketching the tropical garden at my temporary summer home.. My parents had divorced a few years earlier, and two days after graduating high school, my mother requested that I leave to live with my father. His busy schedule did not leave room for taking care of a teenager for the summer, so he sent me to an internship where I could learn practical skills in the hospitality industry in Key West. A family friend offered an attic apartment in an old Victorian and I was essentially left on my own. When I was not at my internship, I was reading books, journaling or sketching my tropical surroundings with colored pencils–trying to come to terms with the strong feeling that I’d just been kicked out and abandoned all in the same week.
That summer, I learned the power of art to help ground me in the present moment. I learned that I could transform the pain and confusion of my emotions into a practice of drawing the environment, both internal and external. I think if I had not discovered that outlet, I might have had a very different summer.
Power of Creative Expression
Making art — in all its forms — is a practice of observing and representing the circumstances in which we find ourselves. Whether we are journaling about our relationships, drawing a delicate flower, or interpreting a feeling into music or dance, art helps us develop a relationship with whatever is going on around us. We make art in response to the environment. In order to do that, we need to first tune into and experience that environment — whatever is happening around or within us.
I think of art-making — or even experiencing art — as an active meditation. Nothing grounds me in the present moment as much as holding a paintbrush filled with paint, as I contemplate the form I will express.
When the mind and heart are going in different directions, confusion can set in. The act of creating or engaging with art helps focus our energy and attention, letting the emotional energies settle, even if it’s just for a moment of insight.
Art and Healing
My seventeen-year-old self learned that rather than spending my days ruminating or obsessing over past mistakes, I could feel empowered by the art I created — even if it was only for myself. There is something inherently satisfying about making a piece of art that is direct feedback — a tangible proof that you have used time constructively, to create something, rather than to dwell in a negative state of mind.
Not to say I didn’t feel negativity–I did. But there is a difference between dwelling in negativity and harnessing the energy of that negativity to put to use in an act of creation. I painted many ugly, painful paintings. I wrote horrible things to people, ranting in diatribes that I would never send. But all that outpouring of expression helped release the flow of energy to begin my healing journey.
Start Your Creative Journey
You can try this for yourself. Get a sketchbook or notebook and when you feel challenged or burdened with emotions, fill it with whatever inspires you. Try different dry (charcoal, pencil, pastel) or wet (paint, ink) media to doodle, draw, paint or sketch. Make collage out of your daily paper trail. Mix them all together and watch your own unique style emerge. Share it with someone to get more insights or keep it private, it’s up to you. The healing power is about the process, not the content of the artmaking.
EArth Without Art is Just EH.
The beauty of letting creativity guide us through dark phases of life is that it sheds light on our process, giving insights into what makes our journey unique. These insights serve as guideposts, leading us toward what will give our lives meaning. There is also a strange synchronicity that often occurs when we make our suffering visible through art.
While I was living in my Key West attic apartment that summer, I found a book on the nightstand — Franny and Zooey, by J. D. Salinger. If you don’t know this story, I recommend reading it. It is still one of my favorite books. In it, the main character, Franny, confronts a crisis of faith, and suffers a mental breakdown. She is a young woman with insight and intelligence, struggling to fit herself into the superficial life she is expected to live. I related so strongly to her character that I believe this is one of the main reasons I could make sense of my own circumstances and come to terms with the emotions I was dealing with.
Because Salinger could express the emotional world of a young woman, my life was changed. I found solace and hope. So when we make art, not only do we can heal ourselves, but we also might inspire someone else to undertake their own healing.
To get more tools for creativity and working with emotions, get my free guidebook, 20 Journaling Prompts for Working with Emotions.