How creativity can de-stress and motivate me

I like watching DIY videos. That sounds a bit lame, but I have been amazed of the simple things people can do to make life easier. I don’t have an easy life. It is not hard in the sense that I don’t have nice things, or I don’t have access to good foods, my children actually love me, as does my dog — cats only at feeding time. But, it seems that every choice comes with a fork in the road. Now, I don’t know if I choose wrong some of the time, but with the very BEST of intentions, or if somewhere I have asked for a higher level of Spiritual understanding and life is simply (I use that word shrinking a bit as I write it) giving me the opportunity to gain Higher Ground. Somehow, I always come out ok but the lesson may last for years. Soooo exhausting! And, not without bringing me through every facet of myself to get there. I may eventually get to the top of that mountain (I really don’t like heights) but with asthma, it’s harder to breathe after the long climb and the thin air.

So, I am kind of an artist. No, I am an artist, just not the kind that paints pictures, or does photography. My home becomes my work of art. I love color. I always have — though I wear a fair amount of black because it’s more flattering to my body. How I use color in my home: my kitchen is a bright teal (if I have a favorite color, shades of teal would be it). I have black appliances which really stand out with the bright walls. My dining room is connected to my front room by a large archway. They are separate rooms but can be considered one large room because you can’t be in one of them and close off the other. My dining room has three brightly colored yellow walls. The fourth wall is done in a brick-ish red. So is the inside curve of the archway, as is the front of the fireplace, entryway by front door (that can be closed off), the outlet covers, the gazebo floor outside, the mixed media fence hanging that I created, and a large cross my dad made for me to hang on the fence. Why so much of this red? Because I mixed two or three different shades together and got a lot of it. I will not waste paint. The front room walls are done in a carmel-colored yellow. My computer room is a bright yellow, also, bathroom a different teal and two colors of greys. I hope I’m not boring you because color is never boring. A friend told me years ago that my house looked like an Easter egg. It made me happy because Easter is a time of Resurrection. And creating these rooms, or mixed media makes me happy, lifts my moods, and I get a hell of a lot of problem solving done with other things because my mind can leave the hard stuff that I don’t always know how to handle, but through creation.

I am an artist in my work. Only there, my creativity comes in the form of making people feel better, or look better, or help them along their life’s journeys. I am an acupuncturist who uses ancient techniques and modern technologies. I am an excellent massage therapist for most. My massages have been described as that it feels like I am playing an instrument, or honing a piece of wood, or I know just where to go “How did you know I hurt there?” 30 plus years of it does teach you how to read bodies… and I use my Chinese 5 Element theories and my Empathic skills to help me… But, I look at my work as a place to do a different kind of art work. I take responsibility in it but don’t take on their issues, which is hard for an Empath to learn not to do. But, I am in the third quarter of my life, so I believe I have learned a few things. At least I like to think so, until something happens and I realize I know nothing again. New fork in the road. As with my creating a room, planning and changing as I go, so the same with my client in front of me.

Everyday is a new slate, a new canvas, a new beginning, a new Easter morning. Everyday I get to make mistakes, and learn how to reach that Higher Ground. In the beginning of my vocations, I said to God, “give me Your worst, then show me what to do”. I have limitations in my work, as of course I’m not a doctor. But, I have heard some horrible stories that have manifested into physical illnesses, and it is a process of healing that I am privileged to be a part. Most times I feel humbled by those types of situations. I feel very successful when I can get rid of pain that people have felt for years. I share my stories with them, as well, in spite of what I was taught, to not become friends with my clients. It helps them to understand that everyone, including Healers, have a story to tell. Most times they don’t feel so isolated in life. Not all details need to be shared anyhow. (It is rare I go out with them — I usually keep that boundary.)

And, when I don’t know what to do, I literally start praying and moving my hands to start feeling the body, the meridians, the muscles, and things show up. When the session is done, I let it go until next time, and go redo a closet with left over paints and wallpapers, or create a piece of mixed media, or just start bringing items together to see what fits. Then, I cook a great meal for myself and drink red wine...