"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
- E.E. Cummings
Every Friday morning, I get the absolute pleasure of spending time with a core group of painters at Creative Nectar, and it makes my whole week!
As our small but mighty community begins to expand, we are finding out that not only do we look forward to our time with paint, paper and truest-self, but to our weekly discussion in the closing circle as well. It is a time to see each other just as we are with no masks. There is no need to cover up our feelings in order to make it better for someone else. There is no need to hide tears or angry words when we are together. We meet each other just as we are. We are real and we are seen. It is a powerful place to be.
At Nectar, one of our goals has always been to provide a safe environment in which to paint. A key element of process painting is that we do not comment on each other's paintings.This part of the process helps us to tame our judging mind and nurture our creative spark. But I am seeing this expand into other situations as well. When we come together after painting, we find ourselves in a place of gentleness with one another. And just like in a painting, we are able to meet what arises in the moment with curiosity instead of harsh judgement.
Inside the studio walls, I feel held and nourished. There is a feeling of love, creativity, acceptance and trust here that we are all helping to create. This acceptance and trust has prompted several of us to jokingly use the phrase, "What happens at Nectar, stays at Nectar". And although our little process arts studio isn't quite Vegas, it feels awesome to be part of something so special.
Thanks everyone! See you Friday.
Thanks everyone! See you Friday.
