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diaryland
the shortest distance between two people is healing
01 April 2007 - 09:42
Roughly seven years ago I undertook a small creative project to help me heal in an emotional time. I sewed a quilt, by hand, in a pattern that symbolized what I saw as the movement of my emotions. The quilt has alternating bands of two kinds of fabric, one dark and the other light. The dark cloth represents my periods of intense sorrow and confusion, the light bands my periods of happiness and epiphany. At one end of the quilt lies the thickest band of dark cloth followed by the thinnest band of light. As your eye moves up the quilt, the dark bands get progressively narrower as the light bands grow wider.
The quilt was a reminder to me that my periods of feeling overwhelmed and devastated were growing shorter and that they would always be followed by growth and renewal. The act of sewing it focused my thoughts on the big picture of what I was experiencing, and the concentration required stole time away from fears, panic, self pity. The finished product was beautiful, useful, more meaningful than anything I could ever buy.
I wonder why projects like this don't seem to be incorporated in therapy more often. I am also considering dreaming up a new one to help elevate my daily functioning... Ideas or tales of similar experiences are welcome.
