With every new painting I essentially say the same thing, "I Am Here." |
In the process of I confronting my past and facing the fears that had held me prisoner, I revisited old letters, journals, and now I am revisiting another older painting. |
Those of you who have been following my blog already know that a little over a month ago I wrote about my experience of domestic abuse, and the years of harassment that followed. I was driven by a need for freedom, and I knew by speaking out about my personal experience I would be opening Pandora's box, in a sense. I had no idea how it would all unfold. What I was doing was opening a dam that had been holding back my own flow for far too long. I felt strong enough to ride the tide and let it take me where it would. A deep and hard earned appreciation for the logic of intuition in this life, a trust in life itself, was the only faith I had to go on. I can tie these things in to my paintings, because it is often and sometimes only through painting that I understand my deepest feelings and thoughts.
The month that followed that post was tough. I ended up filing a harassment/stalking restraining order and a few days ago, I won that in a hearing in a local courtroom. The order is for four years and it doesn't guarantee my complete safety, but it secures my freedom to express myself in my own blog and other public forums without being harassed, frightened or bullied. The fight for those rights meant going to court where I could legally and safely stand up for myself. It was an essential step in the process of putting my pieces back together after being broken apart so many years ago.
Sometimes the events of our lives fracture us. In my case, I had split into two, and each half co-existed. A sense of detachment, a shadow self, prevented my connected self from fully participating. |
Healing, as I now understand it to be, is not a return to what we were before. We cannot stay in one place and we cannot go back. What we move into is our choice, but so often we go through life unaware and half asleep. We make excuses, we blame, we escape into distractions. Being fully awake means to acknowledge all the sides of ourselves, even those that have been neglected, disavowed and overlooked in the struggle to keep up, move on and live life in the world as we know it.
When the reality of my own life became too painful to face, I escaped. This does not mean I became bipolar. I chose, not knowing it was a choice, to sometimes not "be here" while going through life. It can best be seen as stepping back, letting life unfold but being somewhere else in your mind. So many of us, the childhood dreamers, know what I mean by this. My mental escape became more extreme, and a convenient hiding place when unwelcome emotions surfaced. Fear, anger, anxiety, sadness... they were unwelcome. What happens when you push these away is that their counterparts, joy, love, peace and bliss also move into a murky space where thay are inaccesessable. Because the pain of the loss of my son drove part of my self into a private and safe place, the other parts of my life missed knowing all of me. I can feel regret, for how long it took to see what had happened, but regret is a backwards road full of pitfalls. This is life, it is messy. It is a series of questions that just lead to more questions. But it can be entered into everyday with open eyes and a recepetive heart. That is the truth of life I had missed by escaping.
What I now understand as the "cocoon" phase, a time of intense introspection and hermetic isolation, has been a wonderful experience for me. It required many hours at the easel. Although I had to pull away from the world in order to access my subconscious and begin the healing process, my family and most friends have understood and given me the space and freedom required to turn inward. There I found the strength I needed to see my own life with open eyes. The confidence I gained from these recent years has been exactly what I needed to recognize what a violation the harassment and stalking have been. The courage I had gained made it possible to assert my rights without further fear of retaliation. I know I have to live my entire life knowing safety is not a guarantee, this person who violated me may at anytime act out of anger. I have prepared myself for this possibility, and a big lesson for me was that 90% of that preparation is mental. Our minds can be our strength or our weakness. It takes a strong heart and a disciplined mind to face a dangerous world.
As I paint this autobiographical painting that I started three years ago, I give form to all of these abstract ideas. The gestation of my heart in it's cocoon phase, the splitting apart with two significant events, the birth of a child and the death of another. The incubation of a self-realized identity that arises from the wounds and divisions caused by violence. The images all arise, situate themselves in the context of a human figure, and I organize them. I highlight some while glazing over others. I reflect on their existence. I acknowledge their purpose in my life. A swan symbolizes the unseen world, the parts of life where intuition and trust are needed most. A pair of eyes peering out from my brain, the self reflection and honesty needed to repair. A grieving mother, a watchful mother, and a hand with a weapon. A victim, a protector, a survivor. A heart, a mind, a past and a future. All the pieces that are put back together, a familiar but transformed and unified version of self.
Being awake inside of oneself is the now the only option. It is a the key that unlocks the cage, the prison so many of us live in. A cage with a key that has always been there. |
With every new painting I essentially say the same thing, "I Am Here." It seems an odd thing to do. I wonder if it's really what we are all doing, all of the time, and I have just found the way that works for me. I don't feel a great sense of belonging to any particular group, religion, race, social caste or political organization. As I grow older the purpose for my own existence becomes something that only I can unlock and live. More social people might think it seems lonely. But I'm not lonely or unfulfilled. Those who seek validation in fame or riches would be disappointed. I have a roof over my head and I eat three healthy meals a day. I paint, I live my life and I face each problem that presents itself when I'm ready. It feels like an integration of the broken parts, and it brings me great peace.
At this point in my life the studio is my workplace, my place of therapy, my place of peace. I am happy here and that is never something to take for granted. |
Interesting you say healing is not a return to what we were before. I completely agree, as we heal we also learn and grow, there is forward movement, or else nothing changes. It's why I dislike the term 'recovery'. Actually there's two reasons, but I'll stay on topic - it also suggests somehow that we return to an earlier state, and I think that tondo that is a literal 're-covering' , not a healing...
ReplyDeleteAnd of course we are never fully healed either, so there is always something new to learn, more growth, or else stagnation occurs.
I love this painting Dawn.
I so agree that about "re-covering." What a good way to put it, I know what it's like to "cover" the issues rather than face them, did that for so long.
DeleteAnd true, we are never fully healed. We shift and change, and hopefully learn from our experiences.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Next time I see you we will enjoy a big hug!!! I agree whole-heartedly with your statement that "our most personal stories are the most universal" (something I embraced after reading Natalie Goldberg's book Writing Down the Bones). XO
ReplyDeleteHugs to you Jen! (I remember that book from years ago... maybe I need to revisit it)
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