This spring my husband and I were invited to the Art Institute for the opening of the Picasso exhibit. I felt like royalty to be able to see the exhibit before it opened to the general public. The special exhibit’s reception event was wonderful: blue lighting in honor of the artist’s Blue Period, delicious food, lovely cubist centerpieces of flowers and fruit, a great group of musicians setting the tone.
How we live; how we heal?
Some people milled about the reception comfortably, others were in a rush to walk through to the art exhibit and go home. A few ladies came and sat at our small table to eat a few bites then immediately and hurriedly left to see the exhibit. “How can that possibly be enjoyable?” I asked myself.
The healing stance in Plant Spirit Medicine wellness
Slowly but surely I began to pay attention to the people in the way I do when I really pay attention … from my center, with my softly-focused eyes, with my great horned owl ears perked up to really listen. And it occurred to me that the people were the real exhibit, not the art! Sure, I did see and enjoy the art – especially pieces I had never seen before. But the real exhibit was the people. How vulnerable we are. How hurried we have become. How detached we at times want to appear. How frightened we can be of true connection. How we work so hard at how we want to be seen. How we avoid vulnerability, which is, by the way, a very big key for our healing.
One of the many gifts of Plant Spirit Medicine Healing
Being present with people, truly present, has been one of the great gifts that my Plant Spirit Medicine training and practice have brought to my life. That immense fascination (not curiosity, mind you) but fascination with humans, with who we are, how we adapt, how we cope, how we all dream and fear and dare and suffer … how we all want to do good, be loved, feel vital. This deep stance of love and compassion is such a gift. It is how Divine and the plant spirits see us. It is such a wonderful point of departure to help me as a healer to be a channel for the loving and generous power of Nature. Such a gift to see and work with my brothers and sisters in this way. Such a privilege.
yes art is not confined to what can be framed or put on a pedestal. Art can be alive, in motion, responsive. How we engage each other, the moment, life, this is art. your experience so wonderfully articulates the different levels,of creative engagement (or lack of).
Olivia.
Thank you, Olivia. That is a beautiful insight — interaction and how we move with one another can in fact be artful, dazzling and even divine. Nature is a perfect example of this. The movement of the planets, cycles of the life of a plant, and certainly cycles of growth and healing all attest to the artful elegance of relationship. I so appreciate your comment!