I see life as a spiral. Sometimes it seems we are going backwards instead we are getting closer to the centre of the spiral. That centre is our purpose as humankind. However, getting to that centre, is a decision we make. We have to decide that what we need more than ever is not a cure but healing.
There is a substantial difference between curing and healing. This difference is the same as the difference between problem solving and learning. We need them both.
Too often we stop at the cure and fail to heal.
Curing, like problem solving, is answer oriented, short-term, linear, reactive. Healing, like learning, is inquiry oriented, long-term, creative and proactive.
True learning is connective and imaginative. When we are disconnected from our imagination we are disconnected from learning too. We have mastered problem solving quite efficiently in our society driven by performance. We are taught how to fit in but not how to relate and create. Learning and healing require relating and creating.
Novalis said that “poetry heals the wounds inflicted by reason.” I believe that too and I believe in the power of poetry healing society.
To heal the world we need to heal ourselves first.
To be able to heal, we need to start educating ourselves in vulnerability, psychological safety, emotional intelligence, non-violent communication, contemplative practices and above all we need to reconnect and bring back the arts (or as I say it the heARTs).
My learning has come as poetry. I often say: “I became a scientist because I wanted to cure people and I wrote poetry to heal myself.”
As a poet I practice imagination, vision and ways to express that vision; as a chemist I tap into a precise alchemy between the diverse elements involved. I learnt to blend method and discipline with play, wonder, awe... A desire to dive into a void of wisdom yet to be tap into. A desire to make it accessible to others not as a cure or as a problem solving tool but, as a way of learning and exploring the journey from human doings into human beings.
The day has come for the arts not to be considered hobbies anymore. They are our way to a more humane future. They are the way to heal the relationship we have with the world and learn a new way of being in those relationships. The world is craving for our imagination, intuition, for our true heART to be expressed. This is something we have to pursue as our responsibility. They are not skills or tools we learn so we can be more productive or solve problems more efficiently. They are the human operating system...if you haven’t installed it yet this is the time!
Adrienne Rich said: “Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; means that you don’t fall for shallow and easy solutions..."
We have been taught to disconnect from chaos and crisis by fragmenting or fracturing. If we want healing we have to learn to move toward wholeness with compassion, integrity and the willingness to take the responsibility to learn and heal ourselves. We have the responsibility to transform not just what we learn, but how we learn. When we practice art and evoke the artist within each and everyone we access the space of dialogue and co-creation of practices, processes and tools that support our progress and evolution - while healing.
What we do depends on who we are and on the well-being of our being.
Art, or as I call it heart, is not a tool for entertainment or problem solving. It is the very essence at the centre of our being that when evoked and practiced helps us heal, learn and create new paradigms, processes and tools.
If you’re interested to learn more about our knowledge and experience and discuss how we could help through our consultancy, workshops, and talks, drop us a line at fateme@rnewb.com.
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