I think it was all that walking!
I think it was all that walking!
The quote above is from a book that my son loved as a child: Yummers, Too - the Second Course by James Marshall. The Yummers series highlights the adventures of two friends, Emily the pig and Eugene the turtle. Eugene is the logical, reasonable one of the pair while dear Emily seems to be captive of her whims and love of food.
In the second book, Emily declares that she and Eugene are going to start exercising for health reasons and they begin with a walk in the park. Clad in her sporty walking shoes and armed with good intentions, Emily finds herself enticed along the way with a myriad of food stops: hotdog stand, ice cream truck, popcorn vendor etc. Emily partakes of each during their inaugural exercise-walk and soon begins to feel unwell.
A taxi is summoned to escort the two home, where she takes to her bed.
The next day, Eugene calls on Emily to see how she is feeling (as all good friends do). Emily is sitting upright in her bed, feeling much better!
“What do you think happened?” Eugene asks, happy the crisis is over but always keeping an eye on cause-and-effect.
“I think it was all that walking!” Emily announces after a thoughtful moment.
My son and I always giggled at sweet Emily’s naivete, but I suspect we recognized that Emily reflected some of our own foibles and lack of self-awareness at times. We are all human (even pigs and turtles).
Poet and 13th century mystic, Rumi, reminds us “We tie ourselves in knots of our own making”. Often those knots are there from trying to keep ourselves safe, or perhaps they are caused by reflexive behaviors/thoughts passed down to us through our family or culture.
In my HANDLE therapy practice, I saw this play out time and again with my clients: we protect ourselves in the areas of our greatest vulnerabilities. Those knots are initially there for a purpose. Yet those knots may no longer be needed. Once we see the presence of those knots, we can begin to question them. Ask why they might be here. See if they are still needed.
In the last few years I have utilized the power of expressive arts to navigate unsettling change in my life. Journaling and somatic therapies had been part of my tool box for many years, but stepping up to a blank canvas or piece of paper and allowing it to become a mirror proved to be an amazing journey to inner awareness. To hear the inner dialogue. To reveal beliefs that no longer serve me.
Expressive art can help find those knots and untie them. To free us to explore who we are meant to be.
The launch of this website and blog represents a long journey.
I’ve owned the URL “Insideout-Outsidein” for almost 8 years. It was to be the website for my HANDLE therapy practice that I began in 2004 (to learn more about HANDLE visit www.handle.org). Like most everyone, life got interesting and intense the past few years and the URL sat on the metaphorical shelf while I tended to various fires, transitions, pandemics, location changes etc.
I chose Insideout-Outsidein as it described the concepts we teach to our clients in HANDLE, a systems approach that understands “nothing stands alone”. Wikipedia defines systems-thinking as “a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective action in complex contexts.”
We, as humans, are incredibly complex: a system of systems- internal and external. Our internal environment (nervous system, digestive system, cardiac system, belief systems, etc) is influenced by our external environment (physical environment, socioeconomic status, the jobs we perform, our interpersonal connections etc) and vice versa. The dance between the internal and external strongly influences how we function in the world (and a huge influence on how content we feel in life, whether our day flows with ease or with tension).
InsideOut-Outsidein seemed a perfect description for my HANDLE website!
But as the URL lie waiting, I began to explore the power of art and in particular, expressive arts, in my own life. Recognizing its immense power, I took training classes in art therapy and creativity coaching. I realized I wanted to incorporate art into the toolbox I offered my clients.
We are always changing and adapting to our world, to what life serves up. HANDLE is based on that very concept: neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change through growth and reorganization. My career focus changed and adapted to my own life experiences.
So today I am finally launching the website planned so long ago. But now it includes the creative process, as well as HANDLE, to facilitate growth and transformation. I am currently studying Family Constellation work, additionally, to offer in the future; another systems-approach that allows insights and healing with the context of the family system.
Emily the pig may have benefitted from journaling or stepping up to a canvas after Eugene asked “what do you think happened?”. “All that walking” certainly played into the situation but she may have discovered some other pieces of the puzzle in her quest for better and health and well-being.
We are all explorers in this mystery called “life”. Join me on the journey!