Tools to Heal - Part Four: 3 Healing Quotes About Art

“I experience the greatest degree of pleasure in having contact with works of art. They furnish me with happy feelings of an intensity that I cannot derive from other sources.” Albert Einstein

You’ve felt those intense happy feelings too. You’ve felt them as you navigated the corridors of a museum or a gallery, immersing yourself in the atmosphere created by the art that welcomed you with open arms. Often beautiful, at times frightening, art is always there to remind us of the truth, leaving bare the soul of the artist.

Leaving bare all of our souls.

There is something incredibly powerful in the act of witnessing art. It connects us with something deeper, something greater. When we stand in front of an art piece, we are transported somewhere else and, at the same time, we are more present than ever. 

I believe art is a form of spiritual connection. Every time we allow ourselves to immerse ourselves in it, it rewards us with the gift of connection. We connect to ourselves, and also to the whole universe. As we dive into the art piece, time and space dissolve: there are no distractions, no noise in our head, no past, no future. 

In this game, a greater force is at play. The art piece awakens something within us. What the artist expressed in their work is universal, timeless. What we see is a fragment of the essence of the artist, of the essence we share with them, of the essence we all share collectively. 

The art that inspires us does so because it speaks to our soul. And when that happens, healing occurs, because in that precise moment we have come home. 

“Art is restoration: the idea is to repair the damages that are inflicted in life, to make something that is fragmented – which is what fear and anxiety do to a person – into something whole.” Louise Bourgeois

We pick up the fragments and glue them back together. We make collages out of misery, paint grief and rage on a canvas, draw lines that lead us home. We pour ourselves onto the raw material that awaits to come to life. When we dare make art, a powerful transformation takes place: we turn that which we fear, that which saddens us and pains us, into pure expression. And that simple act transforms those emotions and us with them.

When we grab those painful fragments and pull them out of ourselves, we can finally look directly at them and recognise them for what they are: emotions, experiences, traumas, desires. This reminds us we are none of those things, helping us stop identifying ourselves with them. 

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” Neil Gaiman

Ultimately, art reminds us of the beauty of the world. We are creators. We give life, whether in the shape of another human being or through the projects we embark on. We can turn a blank canvas into a painting. We can carve stones until they resemble living beings. We can take fabric and transform it into beautiful clothes.

We can transform the world.

The world always seems brighter when we remember this truth. We shape our reality in endless ways. So, remember. Remember and never forget. And if you forget, turn to those works of art. Look at art. Make art. Let art change you. Let art change the world.


If this resonates with you, stay tuned for more posts where I will share practical exercises to heal through art and creativity. To stay connected you can follow my blog by e-mail through the side menu or follow me on Instagram.

Popular posts from this blog

What My 30s Have Taught Me: The Magic of Presence

Image
It seems like yesterday that I turned 30. I celebrated that birthday alone, but I wasn't lonely. I took myself out for lunch after work and ordered a piece of cake. “It's my birthday”, I said, smiling at the woman who owned the small vegan café. She sang happy birthday as she brought that unforgettable mango cake. “I've cut you a big piece”. She was smiling too. I think back on that moment now that I'm slightly closer to the threshold of 40 than the threshold of 30. I remember how happy I was to start this decade. I've met many people in their late 20s who were horrified at the idea of turning 30, but I embraced that age feeling the shift that it sparked within me. My 20s were learning years, healing years. My 20s were full of mistakes and lessons. And even though I still make mistakes and hold similar fears, my third decade feels like a gift. In the last months, I've had a lot of time and mental space to ask myself why that is. As autumn progressed, I felt my
Read more

Are We Humanising Animals? An Animal Lover's Perspective

Image
I often hear people complain that some animal lovers are "humanising animals". I agree to some extent. Some people don't let their dogs be dogs. They don't let them run and roll on the grass or socialise with other dogs, or they treat them like a human baby rather than a member of their own species with their own particular needs. In the case of wild animals , they assign the wrong meaning to their expressions, like when they think dolphins or monkeys are smiling (they don't smile like we do). But I've come to realise these people's definition of humanisation differs from mine most of the time. What they call humanising, I call treating   animals with the care and respect they deserve. And so they will get offended at the suggestion that members of other species have emotions as if emotions were exclusively human. They will get offended at the sight of a sick dog enjoying walks inside a pram as if being sick meant life is over for them. They will get offen
Read more

Every Life Counts: I Rescued A Double-Positive Cat

Image
I saw him during one of my walks. I was going in one direction and, suddenly, for no reason at all, I changed course and there he was. Whether it was fate or pure chance, when he looked at me and meowed, I simply couldn't look away. He was in very bad condition. Too thin, covered in dirt, fleas and flea eggs; a thread of drool hanging from his mouth, which was missing quite a few teeth. He was extremely friendly and kept asking for cuddles. He had clearly been domesticated but everything indicated he had been on his own for a long time. I had to make a plan. The next day, I bought a cat carrier and canned food to try to catch him. All the neighbours in the area watched as I encouraged him to step inside the carrier with the help of some food. "Why are you trying to catch him?", a woman asked. "He's sick." "I know", I said. "That's why." "You want to cure him?" "I'm going to try." She thought he had a tumour an
Read more