Mud and Stars

Tis good to be back in a creative flow at last after facilitating the Mud and Stars workshop yesterday. An all-day therapeutic art session for NGO workers involved in anti-trafficking work.

The idea: to look at our lives in the mud of things here and express the highs and lows of that. And to find ways to foster hope and look for beauty in the things we do.

So we made mud footprints and told the story of where our feet had been the day before.

And we drew our hearts and the things they hold. The happy, the sad, the frustrating, the challenging, the painful, the peaceful, the unknown.

And then we looked at the things we hold in our hands: responsibilities, relationships, burdens etc and drew people that came to mind in all of that. People that we love and/or struggle with. And tried to picture them and get a glimpse of their story to help us either love them more or have more empathy and compassion for them.

And then we smashed tiles to get out the WAAAAAAAAA of life. The stuff that lingers and doesn't always melt away very easily.

And then we made a star out of all the broken bits. Something beautiful out of our rage and worries.

And then we stood round it and prayed.

Twas a good day. Happy to be in the flow again.