Painting is good medicine

"Write blog post" has been on my to do list for the past three weeks. Every time I look at my list it just stares back at me— "Hellloooo, remember me?" Well, let me just say that I have not forgotten about you my sweet little blog! I have just been completely immersed in my Bloom True E-Course with little energy for writing left over at the end of the day. We are now in the final few days of the course and I'm coming up for breath.

Well, actually I'm sitting in Portland's cute airport getting ready to fly to San Francisco to teach a workshop this weekend at the Teahouse Studio. Oh, and next weekend too. I guess this is my kind of "breath."

I will write more about the e course next week, but I will say this—I feel like I'm on the other side of an enormous mountain. This particular mountain was a pure labor of love, one that I poured every bit of my heart and soul into on a daily basis for months. I'm honestly not sure who learned more, my students or me?

Presenting this intuitive painting process in an online format was a challenge. The process can be quite an emotional roller coaster as I'm sure my students can attest to! There were times where I just wanted to give a virtual hug to everyone who was struggling. I did as much of this kind of supporting as I could muster through the written word, images, quotes and videos. But, in the end, it was up to each person to step into their own form of bravery as they faced their canvases—alone. From what I can see, this inaugural group of brave bloomers totally stepped up to the challenge.

Can you tell I'm feeling like a proud mama right now?!

In the midst of this course, I also created a 20 foot long mural. As you do when you're crazy like me! This mural was a commission and I painted it directly on the wall in a condo in Portland. I'm quite sure I would not have made time to paint over the past couple weeks if I didn't have to, but I'm so grateful I had this commitment. Squeezing those hours of painting into my very busy days was a pure gift, and this is why:

The process of creating something out of nothing (see blank wall below) is intoxicating—like pure soul food. As humans, we are designed to CREATE, but it's so easy to just watch instead. By creating, we come alive inside. We are reminded of our infinite creative capacity and our ability to create our LIFE—anyway we want it. It's such a metaphor in that way. If we allow it to, creating can re-connect us to our most raw and pure state of BEing and to a place where anything is possible and new worlds are born with the simple swoosh of a paint brush. Every time I paint, I am reminded why I feel so passionately about sharing this process with other people; Creating is a crucial part of being alive, and painting is good medicine for the soul.

(To read more of my thoughts on this topic, check out an article I wrote about my "Dream Job" right here.).

With that said, here's a little glimpse of the progression of the "soul food mural" (please excuse the poor quality…the light was pretty dim and all I had was my handy iphone.).