Prologue: Art and Healing

I finally e-mailed Betsy the summary of the ideas we talked about at dinner a while back regarding art/creation/healing, so she could include a quote from me in her paper. This is what I sent her. (By the end of May I should have a much-elaborated, many-page expose' on the topic.)

Art and healing go hand in hand. Much of the art we do is actually healing in disguise, and this can be on the level of the individual or the level of a whole community. Healing consists of much more than just recovery from physical or emotional pain; healing is anything and everything that helps an entity become more whole, more fully alive. I think making art can be so transformative for people because creating with our hearts, minds, and hands is a mirror of divine creation. In those moments when we reach into the ether and give birth to a creation which up until then did not exist in the world, we are most closely connected with the actions of our Source, the All from whence we came. The All is infinitely creative; when we create, we align ourselves with the All, and resultantly become more whole. ~~~ As an example of healing on larger scales, people have come together for thousands of years to make art in the community setting, as through pageants or festivals marking changes of season, holidays, harvests, or other milestones in our lives. This act of coming together, engaging in the creation of art as in a pageant, parade, or other form, binds the ties of a community. The end product cannot exist without the help of all the individuals involved; one feels connection through being a part of something larger than one's self. In an example like this, where communities become stronger, and the people celebrate the common aspects of their humanity, healing has occurred.