Always there

"Our job is improving the quality of life, not just delaying death." - Hunter Doherty Patch Adams

When I heard about Robin Williams and his sad goodbye, my World stopped for a while. I was soaked into my deep Self, where things from my past were waiting to be awakened again. And that day came...

There he was, a boy from my childhood, the happiest kid in the neighborhood. Always laughing, always full of life, always making others people's lives a little bit brighter. And then, one day, he was gone. A suicide. At age 13. And a big wound in my heart.

Years passed by. The best years of my life were spent in a beautiful presence of a guy I really liked. He made us laugh, love life and he was our guide into a soulful life, focusing on the others. He was my inspiration - to live better, to do better. And then, one day, he was gone. Cancer. At age 20. And a big wound in my heart.

In a way, Robin Williams was for me a projection of those two people. He had the same 'glow' around him as I remembered I saw around my friends. He helped me to keep my friends in my heart - they were always there, very alive, very true.

I believe they were part of my path into Art therapy. I've always had a need to help people to be who they really are. The quiet ones, depressed ones, sad ones, the 'happy' ones, the abused ones, the poor ones... They were my teachers and they were my patients. They were my motivation and inspiration.

So I chose a path, called Art Therapy. But the World today doesn't want to deal with people who need help. The World closes its eyes and pretends they are gone. And for those, who do want to help, it feels like they are fighting with the windmills. The system wanted my money, but not my help. So, my life-path had to change a direction. I decided to invest the money into people, not a system. Because of that, my journey will be longer and harder, but Art therapy will always be with me, no matter what. And my friends, and Robin Williams and all the people I've worked with on my journey will always be there, too. Because of them I won't give up the things that are written in my heart, probably from the day I was born.

That's why I would like to dedicate this post and a video from my favorite Williams's movie role 'Patch Adams' to all of you who dream about a better World, better people and things we could do to make our lives brighter. Let the video inspire you to give, do and feel the best you can, and never give up your dreams, your true Self.

"You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you'll win, no matter what the outcome." - Hunter Doherty Patch Adams

Our dark side

We all have some good days and some bad days... How do you handle your bad days? Are you angry at yourself, do you simply ignore them or do you 'sit in the corner waiting that bad things disappear'?

Sometimes I'm really upset when dark clouds come (unannounced) and put my energy level down and the mood. Ok, I know that we wouldn't admire the stars if there were no dark nights to make the stars shine..., but sometimes even positive thinking doesn't work for me.

However, sometimes I'm prepared and then I try to use my creative imagination and play with my dark side until it is not bright again. I explore what we can create together: a B&W drawing, a magical box with a hidden treasure inside, a (dark) selfy with my camera... When playing with my dark side, I forget about what really bothers me, I put it on the paper and live it there... Sometimes, at art therapy, we have a process to burn the created work, but I prefer to transform it into something that I like instead. I take it as a lesson in my life, so I don't want to burn it to make it disappear.

So, why not make something creative or special with your darker side as well; instead of denying it or torturing yourself with it?? Look what you can do with your shadow, which is in a way a symbol of our darker side...

Just be who you are, be creative and may your dark side be an opportunity to express yourself in a special, unique way!

Power of One

Have you ever wondered where's your place in this World? What can we really do among so many other people doing 'their' things?

I like to imagine that I am like one of the cells in my body... I do my job every day, I do the things that I feel I need to do, I do them the best I can. If I wander away from my direction, the World will get sick, just as we get sick when our cells stop functioning the way they supposed to...

So, I do believe every person on this planet is important. I count, you count, we count. I rely on you, you rely on me - in order to stay well and happy. I believe in the power of One.

Because of my belief, my next question is: 'What I can do to help others follow their direction?' I can't tell them where to go or what to do. They need to follow their own path, their own inner map. So, I help them in many different ways. As you know, I help some with art therapy and phototherapy techniques. I help the others with my little books and illustrations. This year I started to help with my images, my photos - transformed into greeting cards, they have a special mission to help people follow their paths. Find out how we do it in our Vision & Verb Shoppe, where you can find and buy our images and help too.

We are helping people via non-profit organization Kiva. They do a great job and I'm really happy to know that the power of one makes such a wonderful change in the World. We want every cell of our bodies to stay healthy, and we can gain this doing what we can at this moment, on this day and every day! 

Do you believe in the power of One? How do you help, how can we help and how do you like our idea of helping the others? Is it worth it?

#3: Transparency

When we had phototherapy workshop last year and we had to work on ourselves (of course!), I discovered, that a very important word in my life is transparency.

I like to see all the layers behind the layer in front of me... - either it is in nature, in art works or in people. I like when people don't put a big wall in front of them and don't show you who they are... Or they put layers of make-up and hide behind the mask to not show you who they are.

I don't see the point of not showing my-Self to the others. How I can have a conversation with someone if I pretend to be someone else? What's the point? Whom am I fooling here??

Transparency is something that it is there, but you decide if you want to look for every layer. It's your choice will you see all the layers together or will you choose only one of them and explore that one... 

Yes, transparency is very important in my life: in nature, in my works and in my-Self.

Question #3: 

What word is important in your life?

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PS: Find the rules of the game 'Giving thanks, giving gifts 2011' here. 

And watch this video to see my plans for the precious gifts I plan to give in the future... Have a good day!

Guessing game

Today is a great day for games, so let's play! : )

Last time we were trying to guess this place? And today we will explore Slovenia too… No praise, no glory, just having fun and maybe learning something about Slovenia ; )...

What is the name of this Slovene town?

Here are some tips:

• be focused on the background of the picture;
• in this town, a creative person ('on a picture') is looking at you from a window;
• Romans were here ages ago too, of course;
• and I loved this place as a child, because they produced something sweet here.

So what do you think? Any ideas? (PS: No worries if your answer won't be correct. I will applaud you for your courage).

PS: This week, my mentors from Finland will explore Slovenia too! Oh, well, first of all, they will check the progress of my phototherapy research : ). Yay! Happy!