Music, Art, Nature, Wellbeing

Deeper Than Words

Trauma has so many different roots and forms. Looking up synonyms for trauma, I found words like pain, damage, disturbance, hurt, scars, wounds and shock. Some people will retreat inwards, into silence. Others will want to talk, to emote. Some will experience trauma bonds, wanting to relive what happened. I recently read about the experiencesContinue reading “Deeper Than Words”

Concrete Cows

A few years ago I heard about Providence Youth Club in Battersea, London, welcoming a group of farm animals from The Shallowford Trust’s Dartmoor farm to a local city carpark for a week. Londoners could come to see the calves, lambs and pigs in the straw in pens just across the street from shops andContinue reading “Concrete Cows”

Endless Possibility

In my house sits an old guitar, unused for many years. Sometimes I’ve wondered about learning to play, but still haven’t taken the plunge. All I remember about the one and only time I went to a guitar class (at a music club for young people, when I was about 12), was all the talkContinue reading “Endless Possibility”

Day By Day

Are you a creature of habit? I know I am. I do like to be spontaneous too and to try different things, but I find that life works better if I follow a routine. Working for myself from home that’s particularly important – but in other parts of my life as well, routine really helps.Continue reading “Day By Day”

New Encounters

Art and nature – how they interact, how they benefit wellbeing together and apart – are integral to my Medley arts for wellbeing initiative. So when I heard about Nature In Art, an art gallery, I obviously wanted to learn more. Located 2 miles outside Gloucester, this is none other than the world’s first artContinue reading “New Encounters”

All Ears

I recently saw a quote on a T shirt which read: “Animals may not be our whole lives, but they make our lives whole”. Maybe you agree with that saying? Having a companion animal is known to boost mental – as well as physical – health, as proven by research studies and by the everydayContinue reading “All Ears”

Earthbound?

In a basket where I keep cards and letters, I recently found a greetings card sent in 2009, with a very striking image. It’s entitled “Trees Amid The Waters Near Taponas, Rhone, France” and it is an aerial photograph taken by Yann Arthus Bertrand during the floods of March 2001. Seeing this image made meContinue reading “Earthbound?”

Picture The Scene

Do you ever visualize a scene, a place or an experience in your mind, maybe reliving it from memory, or creating it in your imagination? It might feel real or remote or even dream-like. And it might have a strong impact on wellbeing. Recently I heard someone describe the use of visualization within therapy forContinue reading “Picture The Scene”

In The Bleak Midwinter

Midwinter has descended. Darkness falls so early and cold and ice refuse to clear. Next week sees the winter solstice, then Christmas. How do you see winter and darkness? Do they feel to you dismal, hopeless, a struggle? Or do you see them as a chance to recharge? Many of us see winter and darknessContinue reading “In The Bleak Midwinter”