Trauma & Art

This last week or so my plate has been more than full. Among other things our dog died yesterday, after being on a drip feed for almost a week. She lost most of her faculties except for her ability to connect to us. It was heart wrenching to watch her determination and effort to move, to come towards us, and her failure to mobilize her back legs and rapid overall deterioration. It was also amazing how patient she was with all the medical procedures and the fact that she lasted a whole week without any solid food. I am trying to say goodbye to her and get used to the lack of her presence in our home. She was so very much part of our family and home.

Anyway today, trying intentionally to take my mind off things for a while, to shift my attention, I re-read parts from Craig and Deirdre Hassed’s book on creating a mindful home environment. The Mindful Home takes the view that being at home is a metaphor for finding ourselves – our core. It explores the ways in which we feed our mind and heart through the five senses. It also discusses how to create a sustainable life at home and suggests ways to minimize our impact on the environment. The book is an interesting and pleasant read, which brought back memories of my interest in decorating, doing things around the house, and restoring second hand furniture and finds. I sort of retraced my steps back to 2004, when I engaged in an interior decoration course for a year and then even further back to the 90s when we moved into our house in a small village. I reflected on the effort I put into creating a home and a garden. I think to some extent it reflected my need to find a home or perhaps my need to return home after my travels… Our homes usually reflect us and our circumstances in particular time and spatial contexts and our homes can hopefully become our sanctuary, a place to return, to recuperate, to gather with our family and create memories. At other times leaving a home can be a call for freedom and change. Leaving a home can signal a need to move on, to let go or to leave behind. Home as a theme or metaphor appears in stories from the beginning of time all over the world. ‘Before human beings invented writing there was a rich history of story telling, an oral tradition of fables, myths and legends that had two main aims. The first aim was to entertain by regaling ripping yarns of heroism and adventure. The second, and the deeper, aim was to transmit the collective wisdom of the community. These stories were not necessarily meant to be taken literally, but to convey wisdom and meaning through symbolism and metaphor. They were to instruct and remind the story tellers and listeners of the laws governing human nature, as well as the natural laws governing the community and the universe in which they lived. Fables, myths and legends were there to convey the mysteries of things intangible and intuitive. Over time they were written down and became formalized and eventually, codified into collections and mythological traditions. A recurring theme of so many stories has to do with the return home of the hero. For example, in Greek mythology, after the battle of Troy, Odysseus spends many years on an arduous but relentless search for his home back in Greece. Perseus had many adventures on his way back home after killing Medusa. There are similar examples for other cultures and traditions’ (extract from the Mindful Home by Craig and Deirdre Hassed). And as I write these thoughts down I cannot avoid thinking of all those across the world less fortunate who do not have a home, a shelter to return to, a protective shell to recoil in when needed.

August 9^th, 2016