Who we are

We said goodbye to winter and now it's time to start a new journey, it's time to grow. New adventures are waiting for us, new opportunities to bloom. Which pathway will you choose? Where will you go?

Climbing the mountains is one way of doing it. But it depends how we do it or why. Some do it to be on the top and enjoy the wonderful views. Some want to feel every muscle of their body and sweat all the poison out. Some want to be higher than everyone else. Some people want to escape from everyday life for a few hours. The others want to be closer to heaven.

But at the end we are who we are. On the mountain, under the sea, in our bedroom, at work, on vacation... - the luggage we carry with us all the time is 'us'. The bags can be heavy or light - whatever we choose to take on our journey.

This winter I learned to simplify my life and leave most of my bags at home. It was not easy as I like a comfortable life, but some wise words from the people I admire helped. Today I'm sharing one of them - my favourite, inspiring and beautiful talks that might help you change the way you see yourself and the others.

And now ask yourself who you are, what are you thinking about - about you, the others, the world. What kind of 'bags' do you carry with you and do you really need them?

It's spring. Nature is waking up, everything is alive and fresh and ready to grow. I think it's time we grow, too.

I'm looking forward to see you bloom!

Obsessed

Today is a day when we put everything in kids' hands here. What a day! Great excitement, laughter, jostling, running here and there, not a second in stillness.

It is interesting to observe how with putting on a costume and mask something new wakes up inside of the kids. Even the most calm and dreamy kids become wild and can't control themselves anymore.

At drama therapy they 'play' with different personalities most of the time, but at art therapy we try to collect information at the events like this one. Everything develops in a great speed, so it is a hard work as we need to be careful to stay focused and not to get soaked into the tornado too.

If you have problems with your kids, it's a good day today to observe them from a different perspective and see what else is hiding inside them. But you have to be careful to not be fooled by the mask's surface. Don't focus on its surface, instead observe, what the mask brings out of your child's personality.

It is a difficult task, I know, but it's worth it. However, don't forget to have fun today as well, laugh a lot and be creative. Let it be a day of new realizations. Enjoy!

Always there

"Our job is improving the quality of life, not just delaying death." - Hunter Doherty Patch Adams

When I heard about Robin Williams and his sad goodbye, my World stopped for a while. I was soaked into my deep Self, where things from my past were waiting to be awakened again. And that day came...

There he was, a boy from my childhood, the happiest kid in the neighborhood. Always laughing, always full of life, always making others people's lives a little bit brighter. And then, one day, he was gone. A suicide. At age 13. And a big wound in my heart.

Years passed by. The best years of my life were spent in a beautiful presence of a guy I really liked. He made us laugh, love life and he was our guide into a soulful life, focusing on the others. He was my inspiration - to live better, to do better. And then, one day, he was gone. Cancer. At age 20. And a big wound in my heart.

In a way, Robin Williams was for me a projection of those two people. He had the same 'glow' around him as I remembered I saw around my friends. He helped me to keep my friends in my heart - they were always there, very alive, very true.

I believe they were part of my path into Art therapy. I've always had a need to help people to be who they really are. The quiet ones, depressed ones, sad ones, the 'happy' ones, the abused ones, the poor ones... They were my teachers and they were my patients. They were my motivation and inspiration.

So I chose a path, called Art Therapy. But the World today doesn't want to deal with people who need help. The World closes its eyes and pretends they are gone. And for those, who do want to help, it feels like they are fighting with the windmills. The system wanted my money, but not my help. So, my life-path had to change a direction. I decided to invest the money into people, not a system. Because of that, my journey will be longer and harder, but Art therapy will always be with me, no matter what. And my friends, and Robin Williams and all the people I've worked with on my journey will always be there, too. Because of them I won't give up the things that are written in my heart, probably from the day I was born.

That's why I would like to dedicate this post and a video from my favorite Williams's movie role 'Patch Adams' to all of you who dream about a better World, better people and things we could do to make our lives brighter. Let the video inspire you to give, do and feel the best you can, and never give up your dreams, your true Self.

"You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome." - Hunter Doherty Patch Adams

Our dark side

We all have some good days and some bad days... How do you handle your bad days? Are you angry at yourself, do you simply ignore them or do you 'sit in the corner waiting that bad things disappear'?

Sometimes I'm really upset when dark clouds come (unannounced) and put my energy level down and the mood. Ok, I know that we wouldn't admire the stars if there were no dark nights to make the stars shine..., but sometimes even positive thinking doesn't work for me.

However, sometimes I'm prepared and then I try to use my creative imagination and play with my dark side until it is not bright again. I explore what we can create together: a B&W drawing, a magical box with a hidden treasure inside, a (dark) selfy with my camera... When playing with my dark side, I forget about what really bothers me, I put it on the paper and live it there... Sometimes, at art therapy, we have a process to burn the created work, but I prefer to transform it into something that I like instead. I take it as a lesson in my life, so I don't want to burn it to make it disappear.

So, why not make something creative or special with your darker side as well; instead of denying it or torturing yourself with it?? Look what you can do with your shadow, which is in a way a symbol of our darker side...

Just be who you are, be creative and may your dark side be an opportunity to express yourself in a special, unique way!

Power of One

Have you ever wondered where's your place in this World? What can we really do among so many other people doing 'their' things?

I like to imagine that I am like one of the cells in my body... I do my job every day, I do the things that I feel I need to do, I do them the best I can. If I wander away from my direction, the World will get sick, just as we get sick when our cells stop functioning the way they supposed to...

So, I do believe every person on this planet is important. I count, you count, we count. I rely on you, you rely on me - in order to stay well and happy. I believe in the power of One.

Because of my belief, my next question is: 'What I can do to help others follow their direction?' I can't tell them where to go or what to do. They need to follow their own path, their own inner map. So, I help them in many different ways. As you know, I help some with art therapy and phototherapy techniques. I help the others with my little books and illustrations. This year I started to help with my images, my photos - transformed into greeting cards, they have a special mission to help people follow their paths. Find out how we do it in our Vision & Verb Shoppe, where you can find and buy our images and help too.

We are helping people via non-profit organization Kiva. They do a great job and I'm really happy to know that the power of one makes such a wonderful change in the World. We want every cell of our bodies to stay healthy, and we can gain this doing what we can at this moment, on this day and every day! 

Do you believe in the power of One? How do you help, how can we help and how do you like our idea of helping the others? Is it worth it?