Have a look,
Beautiful soul.
Welcome into the space.
It's time to pause,
Calm your mind,
And come with me on a guided art exercise.
You don't have to be an artist to take this journey.
All you need is something to draw a line on,
And something to draw a line with.
This is not about creating breathtaking artwork,
But using the process of drawing to distract your mind from its usual flurry of thoughts.
We'll start with a few deep breaths,
Grounding ourselves in the space and in this moment.
Then I'll tell you a little story,
Something you can use as inspiration as you draw.
Draw shapes,
Smudges of color,
Swirling lines,
Add some words,
Whatever comes naturally to you in the moment.
Let's begin.
If it is safe to do so,
And if you're comfortable to do so,
Close your eyes now.
If you prefer,
Softly focus your eyes on a neutral point,
The wall across from you,
Or a spot on the floor.
Now let's start with three deep breaths.
In through your nose,
Filling up your lungs,
Expanding your chest and belly,
And slowly out,
Relaxing into this moment.
Again,
In through your nose,
Feeling that expansion,
Out,
Relaxing deeper,
Feeling how gently you're held within your body.
One more deep breath in,
Filling your body,
Feeling that expansion,
And out.
Secure,
Relaxed,
And aware of yourself in this time and in this place.
Our journey today starts with a glass object.
What comes to mind?
Perhaps a bottle,
A vase,
An ornament?
What color is it?
What size is it?
Is it a rounded,
Organic shape?
Does it have sharp angles?
Now see a single piece,
A single shard of glass coming off that object.
How did it happen?
See that shining,
Sharp shard alone and separated.
What does that feel like?
This shard of glass is at the start of a new and longer journey,
And it falls into the ocean.
How did it get there?
Was it picked up and thrown by a hand?
Was it swept away?
See the ocean water with the gleaming shard falling through it,
Reflecting the sunlight.
It settles onto the sand amongst the pebbles and shells and seaweed.
Now it lives in the ocean.
What does it experience there?
Gentle waves lapping at a shore?
Rolling swells?
Stormy waters?
Is it carried somewhere new by the tide?
As the shard is carried by the ocean,
Rocked by the waves,
It begins to be shaped by the sand and the rocks and the shells around it.
Little by little,
With every movement,
With every wave,
With every pull of the tide,
The sharp edges become smoother.
Little by little,
With every movement,
With every wave,
With every pull of the tide,
The hard,
Shiny,
Reflective surface becomes frosty,
Softer.
On and on it goes,
Smoothing,
Shaping,
The cutting edges becoming rounded,
The jagged points becoming softened peaks.
What does the shard look like now?
Perhaps smaller than it began?
Its colours softer,
Milkier.
Now comes the day when the ocean releases the shard.
See a beach where it comes to rest.
You may know this place.
What does it look like?
What can you hear?
What does it feel like to be there?
Is it balmy,
Sunny?
Is it chilly and wind-swept?
Is it a cobbled surface?
Is it soft sand?
And there the shard lies,
A little jewel now.
And still this is not the end of the story of our shard,
Because so many people love seaglass.
And someone has spotted the shard,
And it delights them.
Who are they?
What will they do with it now?
What will the shard become as they walk away from the beach with a shard in their hand?
A treasured keepsake on a shelf?
A piece of jewellery?
Where do you see the shard now?
And is it beautiful?
Is it loved?
Our lives take us on long and sometimes quite unexpected journeys.
We all start off a little shard with our sharp,
Fresh hedges.
Some of us might begin that journey feeling broken,
Because we've splintered off from something larger we feel we belong to.
But we navigate our lives,
And as we do so we're smoothed and sanded,
Changed by our experiences,
The people we meet,
The places we go,
The memories we make.
And what we become may look quite different to how we began.
What we become is a jewel in our own way.
Thank you for joining me today for this guided art exercise.
I hope it leaves you relaxed with a deeper sense of connection.
Until next time beautiful soul,
Walk in peace.
