«Υπάρχει μια φυλή από σιωπηλούς ευημερούντες που πολλοί άνθρωποι δεν γνωρίζουν» (Σιωπηλοί Ευημερούντες, σελ. 89, M.E. Hart)
In recent posts I have been referring to art and art practices as a means of resistance and creation of the possible or small utopias, which could perhaps be defined as collective healing although I have more generally focused on artistic practices and creativity as a means and a process of increasing awareness and healing trauma. Below is a poem with the title Circle from M.E. Hart’s book Thriver’s Quest (2018, Library Partners Press). He too uses the metaphor of the circle not as in negotiating positions in the circle or the stepping out of it, nor the opening of the circle to call someone in or create a crack onto a new future, but instead as Hart writes ‘to describe reconnecting emotions inside with my journey in life outside. It is what healing feels like’ (p.44)
Κύκλος
Όταν ο κύκλος έσπασε / κάτι νέο ξεκίνησε / όταν ο κύκλος έσπασε / κάτι έφτασε στο τέλος / ο αδιάσπαστος κύκλος του τραύματος μέσα στο χρόνο / μέσω οροσειρών / μέσω κοιλάδων / μέσα από τον θυμό και τον φόβο / μέσα από τις χαρές και τις λύπες / μέσα από την ευτυχία και τα δάκρυα / ο αδιάσπαστος κύκλος φτάνει πίσω στην αρχή / ένα ταξίδι μέσα στο χρόνο / στην αρχική σπίθα / ο αδιάσπαστος κύκλος έσπασε / μέσω εμένα επουλώνεται / ακόμα και καθώς μιλώ (σελ.43)
M.E. Hart has used art, poetry in his case, to process experience and heal. He has drawn on his own healing journey from early sexual abuse and trauma and later life experiences in developing his poems. He is an attorney, actor, scriptwriter, poet, and certified executive coach and has received a BA in Russian Language and Literature. Hart leads a team that helps organizations create inclusive and innovative cultures.
His healing journey and book is centered around six themes: Surviving, Searching, Fighting, Realizing, Healing, Thriving. These seem to be universal themes or / and phases for those working to heal from trauma. M.E. Hart has used an interesting and more structured process he calls The Mini Quest Writing Process, which is a short version of the Hero’s Journey by the mythologist Joseph Campbell. Like in the hero’s journey it includes three steps: The Call, The Quest and The Return. He supports that these internal journeys can help us reconnect to our deepest self and to rediscover who we are born to be, and what we are born to do and offer the world. Hart writes that ‘The Call can be a thought, a feeling, a sensation, a dream, a question we ask ourselves, or a question someone asks us, anything really. It is what sparks us to try to understand what’s happening in a given moment. The Quest is writing down what we are thinking, feeling, remembering, fantasizing, and imagining as we explore the thoughts, feelings, bodily responses, and actions that catch our attention. Then we spend some time putting what we have discovered into a poetic form that deepens our understanding and healing. The Return is re-visiting our poems to help us understand ourselves better as we have new responses to them. Often, we discover that re-reading our poems helps us make sense of something in our present life’.
«Tα καλώ όλα πίσω / καλώ το πνεύμα μου / και καθώς το σύμπαν / ρέει μέσα μου σαν ένα ρεύμα / βύθισε το χέρι σου και πάρε όλα όσα χρειάζεσαι» (Καλώντας Πίσω Το Πνεύμα Μου, σελ. 51)
