We seldom make time for endings, always associating them with sadness and loss. But there can be joy in endings and even in death, when preparation was done to end well, to release lovingly and indeed to die peacefully. Of course the sadness is not to be excluded, but I wonder how much room could be made to experience both the loss and the joy in endings.
With things changing as much as they currently are, much may be shifting or changing for you. In order to draw some insight from chapters coming to a close, today go find something, anything in your garden that is decaying.
A dry branch, a decaying leaf, a rotten fruit.
- Find somewhere comfortable to sit.
- Begin drawing your decaying item or piece of nature.
- Don’t be overly critical of your art, just enjoy the capturing of the last moments of a piece of nature.
While you draw this, let’s contemplate the end of things, the changing of things and the letting go of things that once were full of vitality.
- How does fragility and brittleness make you feel? Compassion or resistance?
- Is it the first time you’re really looking at this leaf or branch or flower? Did you notice it while it was full of life?
- What letting go is it inspiring in you, awaking in you?
As Clarissa Pinkola Estes says in Women Who Run With Wolves, “What must die so that there can be more life” within you?
At the end of today, if you feel inspired to you can share your drawing and drawing insights in the comments. I’d love to share and connect with you over the endings of things and the wellness that might be found in decay and change.
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