Art and Healing Wednesday…
We are such a verbal culture and we use words to describe everything. What if you could only communicate non-verbally? Would you be able to represent a thought, a feeling, or an experience without words? That’s exactly what the art students at Chaparral High School in Parker, CO (my home town) were asked to do.
Jude Keller, the manager of volunteer services at Parker Adventist Hospital teamed up with the high school and asked them to create a piece of art in response to the following quote:
It is the singular gift
We cannot destroy in ourselves
the argument that refutes death,
The genius that invents the future.
~ Lisel Mueller
Yes, hope is an amazing experience. It fuels our potential for health and healing. It is the catalyst to continue on the pilgrimage to wellness. The students created works that were inspirational and insightful. It’s incredible important that we begin encouraging the exploration of hope in our young people because it’s a crazy world and we don’t know when we’ll need to rely on our inner storehouse of hope to get through a challenge.
When I spoke with Jude Keller she told me that she hopes to make this an annual event with the high school. It is forward thinking of a hospital to encourage the community to become part of its healing team. It’s this type of collaboration that lets each and every person in the community who comes to this hospital know that there are others who are holding a healing space for them. No one ever wants to go to the hospital (except maybe if you’re having a baby), but feeling the healing energy that accompanies these works of art is priceless.
I feel fortunate to live in a community like the one served by Parker Adventist Hospital because they understand and support the healing power of art and creativity. They exhibit this commitment not only in the art that is hanging but in the building’s architecture and obviously as in the case of Ms. Keller, in the people they employ.
How do you visualize hope? Does the word spark any colors or textures? Does it conjure up landscapes or cosmic representations? Playing with your own representation of hope in a creative fashion is a great way to explore your beliefs. Knowing what hope looks like will serve you in so many arenas, but especially if you are faced with a health challenge. Give it a try…I hope you never face a health challenge, but if you do you’ll already have the foundation of hope at your fingertips.
Pilgrim Pathway/Surviving Strong 