‘There is a tribe of silent thrivers that many people don’t know’ (Silent Thrivers, p. 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)
Circle
When the circle was broken / something new began / when the circle was broken / something came to an end / the unbroken circle wound through the years / through mountains / through valleys / through anger and fear / through joys and sorrows / through happiness and tears / the unbroken circle reaches back to the start / a journey through time / to the initial spark / the unbroken circle was broken / with me it is being repaired / even as I speak (p.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’.
‘I’m calling it all back / I’m calling back by spirit / and as the universe / flows through me like a stream / dip your hand in and take all you need’ (I’m Calling Back My Spirit, p. 51)
