The Restful Writer: Letter #2 Drawing with the Body

The Restful Writer series is designed for creative napping; a collection of fictional letters written by a woman fulfilling her dream of being an artist. Each nap-length recording lulls you into a state of deep relaxation, perfect for a creative reset. Letter 2 is about the power of pleasure and listening to the body’s wisdom. There is a musical intro, then vocals only until the music begins again, bringing you back to the present moment. Royalty-free music by Fesliyan Studios.

Transcript

Welcome to the Restful Writer Series,

A collection of thoughtful,

Slightly rambling letters written by an ordinary woman who moves to a small coastal town to fulfill her dream of being an artist.

I am that woman,

And these are my letters.

Thank you for listening.

May you find comfort and rest here with me,

Maybe just taking a deep breath and listening to the sound of my voice.

Comforts and soothes,

And your body can relax,

Your mind can quiet,

Maybe closing your eyes feels good,

Letting your eyelids be heavy and soft.

It's perfectly fine if you find yourself just drifting.

Today's letter is about the power of pleasure and listening to the body's wisdom.

Hello my love,

I spent most of the morning in the garden.

In the garden.

Does that surprise you as much as it surprises me?

A green thumb I do not have,

Not even on my very best day.

But there's something so lovely about the cottage garden.

There are two raised beds,

Rectangular wooden boxes filled with rich,

Dark soil,

Mounded into tidy rows.

For weeks I've been passing by them on my way to the sea or the woods.

I'd pause every now and then to read the small wooden markers,

Lettuce,

Onions,

Carrots.

I'd peek to see what was sprouting,

And if it had been too long without a bit of rain,

I'd water them.

As time's gone on,

I've learned to distinguish plants from weeds,

And find I enjoy tending to the plants and watching their progress.

It's calming kneeling beside the beds,

My hands in the cool soil,

The sun warm on my back,

Pulling weeds and keeping the rows neat and weed-free,

Helps me feel productive,

Proactive,

As if I am partnering with nature to create something beautiful and purposeful.

Fortunately,

My inexperienced but loving attention seems to have the garden thriving.

The wooden markers now hidden beneath thick,

Leafy greens.

I was surprised when I noticed several marigold plants begin to bloom.

Flowers in the middle of a vegetable garden.

I've since learned that planting flowers and vegetables in the same bed is a gardening technique called companion gardening.

Both garden beds are planted with pairings that nourish and protect each other.

Isn't it lovely to think of plants as companions in the growing process?

The surprise of seeing flowers growing among the vegetables makes the garden even more enticing,

Which reminded me that quite often the very best art has an element of surprise.

The observer notices something unexpected and feels a little rush of pleasure.

I've been thinking a lot about art and pleasure.

My work in the studio has felt stuck the last few days,

And I have learned not to push it,

To let the art unfold in its own time,

In its own way.

So today I decided to head outdoors and see if being in nature might guide me to a deeper understanding of what I'm trying to create in the studio.

It seems miraculous to me that nature,

Abundant and beautiful,

Is right here at my doorstep.

To be able to just step out my back door into the waiting arms of the woods and hear the symphony of ocean waves just beyond the trees.

Amazing.

It matters to me to savor the gift of it.

So I packed my art bag,

Slung it over my head and across my chest,

Feeling bold and curious,

As if I was headed out on a grand adventure.

I stood at the back door,

The toes of my boots hanging over the threshold,

And said a little prayer for the muse.

Please,

Please,

Some bit of creative genius to meet me halfway today,

To help me see clearly the one little bit of anything that would move me forward with ease.

Not a big dramatic revelation,

Although that might be nice too,

But really just some simple little bit of clarity that would help me know I was on the right path.

I took a deep breath,

Exhaled it slowly,

Took another deep breath and exhaled as I stepped off the back porch,

Pulling the door closed behind me.

Normally,

I like to just wander,

But today I went into the woods with purpose.

I wanted the quiet and the feel of nature around me,

Supporting me and knew right where I was headed.

There is a direct path from the cottage through the woods to the sea,

But if you veer off the path slightly to the left,

There is a small clearing tucked in the depth of the trees.

The sun pools brightly here,

And an ancient fallen tree nestles in a bed of moss and leaves,

Making the perfect place to rest.

I take my time making a comfortable seat.

I want the connection to the earth,

The support of the tree at my back.

I notice the unique quiet of the clearing.

Even the birds whisper this deep in the woods,

Their hushed tones like crooning background singers to the wind in the trees.

I've come here to quiet my mind and listen to my body.

Most artists know that when they feel stuck,

They are too in their heads.

The mind can be confusing,

But the body has its own kind of wisdom.

It is my experience that the body always knows what needs to be known.

So I have come to nature's quiet sanctuary to listen to my body's wisdom,

To let my body speak to me through the art of intuitive drawing.

I sit with my sketchbook open on my knees,

Breathe,

And let my mind go blank,

Letting any random thoughts just drift across my mind like clouds across a summer sky.

I choose a walnut brown colored pencil,

Relax my shoulders,

Arms,

And wrists so that I can draw loosely from the shoulder,

Completely relaxed,

No intent or expectation,

Just letting my whole arm randomly move the brown colored pencil across the page.

This technique allows for intuition to take over.

The subconscious draws through a relaxed,

Softened body.

I love this technique and drop into it easily.

Eyes closed,

Arm,

Wrist,

And hand moving freely across the page,

Letting my body draw.

I relax even more,

Enjoying the feel of the pencil rubbing and scratching across the page with abandon,

And then my arm just stops.

When I open my eyes,

I allow my gaze to wander among the random scribbles,

Circles,

And squares,

And notice if any images rise.

Rather like my own version of a Rorschach design,

I see a bird sitting among the stars.

I see two cherries and a dollar sign that could also be a musical note,

A treble clef,

Perhaps.

The mood is light,

Cheerful,

Hopeful,

And I'm surprised.

Having used this creative technique to get unstuck many times before,

I thought I might see symbols of frustration,

Perhaps jagged bolts of lightning,

My body agreeing with my mind that my art is stuck and frustrated and cranky.

Instead,

I realize that I'm not stuck at all.

I've simply been resisting the natural,

Playful nature of the art I want to create.

I've been trying too hard to create art that feels more serious,

More profound.

I laugh.

The body always knows the truth.

I want to make playful,

Engaging art.

I'm good at making playful,

Engaging art.

This is the magic of this technique.

It frees the imagination,

Generates creative energy,

And shows us something we may not have been able or willing to see with the intelligent,

Preoccupied mind.

I let the surprise and the pleasure of the drawings soften my heart,

Settle a little more deeply into the earth,

Relax a little bit more into the tree,

And look a little closer at the symbols.

A sweet bird shaped like a heart,

Tail feathers alert and happy,

Sitting among dozens of stars,

Two ripe,

Lush cherries,

The tops of their stems connected,

A dollar sign overlaid by a treble clef.

I pause.

Should I make it one or the other?

Should I trace over it and make it a dollar sign or a treble clef?

I decide to let it be both,

Money and music.

They both have a powerful,

Transformative energy,

And I laughingly decide that a little more of both in my life would be fun and helpful.

I opened my ten of colored pencils and colored each symbol,

Letting my imagination give them meaning.

Two cherries,

Colored a vibrant red,

Shaded with deep maroon.

These are the colors of passion,

Energy,

Power.

The cherries make me think of good luck,

Hot fudge sundaes,

And the happy phrase,

Yes,

Please,

With cherries on top.

For the dollar sign treble clef,

I choose blue,

Thinking more about music than money.

Most of my favorite music is a little bit melancholy,

And the color blue represents calm,

Patience,

Devotion.

Finally,

I pull green and yellow pencils from my tin.

For some reason,

The perky tail of the bird makes me think of a parrot.

I take my time alternating green and yellow for his tail feathers.

Green representing prosperity,

Yellow representing hope,

Joy,

And creative expression.

I put the pencils away and take in the finished drawing.

The bright,

Vibrant colors sharpen the images against the soft,

Swirling brown scribbles,

And I am pleased.

It occurs to me that my sense of being stuck wasn't about my art or my life.

Feeling stuck was about having lost my sense of joy in both.

Somewhere along the way,

My focus shifted to producing for the sake of production.

I let my thinking mind overwhelm my intuition and talent.

Drawing with my body reconnected me to a sense of play and reminded me that joy and pleasure are essential to making art and living fully in my life.

I smile at the simplicity,

A bird among the stars,

A little money and some music with two cherries on top.

I feel lucky.

I am steeped in creative joy and ready to get back to the studio.

I rise to go,

Rest my palm against the rough bark of the tree,

And smile,

Giving the tree a little love and gratitude for its support.

As I make my way back through the woods towards the cottage and my studio,

It occurs to me that maintaining this connection to pleasure is also a practice.

Change is constant and life is always busy,

But I am learning that simple pleasures are everywhere.

I just need to pause long enough to notice.

I am beginning to realize that everything I do for the sake of better art makes my life better.

Taking the time to pause,

Giving myself permission to rest,

Listening deeper to my body,

To my art,

To the world around me,

Letting go of the need to control everything and learning to trust the way life flows.

Making art and living seem to have merged into a new and different way of simply being.

My best art isn't what I create in the studio.

My best art is the way I'm living,

The life I create every moment of every day.

Not because it's perfect,

But because I'm fully in it,

Living the beauty and the mess.

What seemed so separate to me before,

An artist's life and my life,

Are now indistinguishable.

Art,

Creativity,

These are a way of living,

A way of being.

My life is my art,

The most important,

Best art.

I think perhaps that's true for us all.

May you be well,

My love.

As I lay down my pen,

My gaze wanders to the window.

The open door of my studio beckons.

There is still more creating to do today.

Inspiration pulses through me.

I tuck my pen and paper away in the desk,

Set this letter aside to be mailed,

And welcome you back to this moment with me.

Perhaps stretching your arms above your head,

Flexing your feet,

Gently pointing your toes back towards your shins,

Wiggling your fingers and toes,

Coming fully present into this moment,

Relaxed,

Refreshed,

And at peace.

Reviews

I absolutely loved this letter of love light ...art and life...I have never felt and heard anything like this...so beautiful...it resonated with me..I am a musician and have written several worship songs and felt stuck...no inspiration...I could go into my room with my keyboards and piano..and just open up to my higher place...let the spirit flow throughout me...this has been a great experience and inspiring love letter...I will go sit in nature and see what life will bring and love of God. Thank you for sharing your life with me and for your help and support..MY life is art...music is my art and life...
I highly recommend this teacher and meditation for relaxation Bethany always inspires a deepness within your life. You will love her as I do!
Blessings, Love and Hugs 🫂
Donald James Dodge

Relaxed and ready to do some 🎨art

I love these letters , please write more of them ❤️❤️❤️

What a beautiful listening meditation… Life as Art… thank you x

I dozed. I'll listen again. I love this concept and also wish I was at the beach writing poetry.