Almost daily, we hear of the devastating impact of climate change and animal agriculture on the planet: increased wildfires, heatwaves, floods, extreme storms, climbing sea levels, the erosion of natural environments, and the extinction of species on a massive scale. We also know that climate change influences migration patterns, communities’ infrastructure and creates less secure food systems. A recent report by the American Psychological...
Taking a more loving stance toward our bodies
It has been a while since I’ve written a blog post, but I was inspired by the beautiful words and images from a post on a website I recently discovered, CancerGrad. In moving and eloquent words and stunning images, Aniela, after having gone through surgery and cancer treatment, writes a love/apology letter to her body: “Now, I have done the unthinkable to you. I cut into you, had parts of you cut off, parts of you cut out. I...
A Powerful Example of Using Art to Heal the Blow of Cancer
In this article about the healing powers of art when faced with a life-threatening illness, expressive art therapist Stephanie McLeod-Estevez describes her journey of art-making in response to her cancer diagnosis and treatment. I love her words, “Using the arts is a way of accessing some of the process — to enable you to bring it outside of you and, like a suitcase, unpack what has been inside and ultimately putting it back together again.”...
Great example of the power of art therapy for people with chronic disease
This short video shows the power of art for a girl with cystic fibrosis who spends much of her life in the hospital. She expresses herself through painting with the aid of an art therapist. She’s reducing stress and dealing with the impact of her physical symptoms, sometimes with talk, sometimes without. http://cnycentral.com/news/local/canastota-woman-looks-to-art-therapy-to-cope-with-chronic-disease Share...
How thoughtless compliments can hurt: noticing thinness when weight loss was unintentional
This moving essay (below) describes a distraught mother, coping with her daughter’s cancer, being envied because of her weight loss. What is the message to this woman’s daughters: one who is dealing with illness and the other with illness of her beloved sister? We’re so obsessed with thinness in our culture that we value it, by any means necessary. What a travesty. As the author says, “If you want to know how someone is,...