Creating Art Increases Emotional Resilience

Over on Instagram and Facebook, we share a lot of images that relate to Drawing Meditations’ work, but I want to talk about this one in more depth. It’s important to me.

Emotional resilience is the ability to bounce back from a bad day, to accept a disappointment and move on, to be aware of your negative moments without being stuck in them.

Emotionally resilient people are able to choose their emotional landscape: express feelings in the moment; redirect emotional energy; or save their expression for another time. Emotional resilience doesn’t mean you’re aiming to become an emotionless Vulcan or an enlightened monk, but that you are aware of your emotions and can determine what to do with them.

With social and professional lives askew thanks to the pandemic, with our health and that of our loved ones in jeopardy, and with injustice and anger swirling through our news, strong emotional resilience makes this “new normal” not just survivable but satisfying.

We can cultivate emotional resilience. It is a skill you can build. A mental muscle you can strengthen. A tool you can sharpen. Pick your metaphor and level it up for 2020.

Drawing Meditations can be part of that practice. Nearly every one of our online classes provides you a chance to do inner work that helps you become more aware of your reactions and adept at adjusting them in the moment.

For example, in the Light and Shadow workshop, you’ll draw lighting effects as you contemplate eight different ways to bring light into dark times – from letting go to gathering.

In Tangle Art, you take small pieces and turn them into intricate patterns, then reflect on aspects of yourself as you draw. When you look at the patterns you create in response to the prompts, you might be surprised at what you see about your emotional landscape.

The Intuitive Art workshop opens new possibilities to emotional resilience. By drawing freely without stopping and without planning, we pour our subconscious thoughts onto the page.

And the list goes on. If this intrigues you, please check the list of classes below to see what’s on the schedule. I’d love to work with you on your emotional resilience, one drawing at a time.