Hope can heal your mind

Hope can heal your mind and soul and art keeps you hopeful. The two are inextricably linked. The question is how?

Stories are the answer.

It is through stories that hope can heal. It is in stories that we can imagine another time and place and imagine a life where there is more light. A place where we can exist beyond the immediate.

By doing so, a feeling of hope comes upon us and the imagined world creates an endorphin rush which helps accelerate healing. The brain has to find ways to overcome hurdles and move to a place of recovery. By experiencing the stories there is a “narrative support”, a type of support that makes you think of another time and place.

What does art do?

So many things; it creates a story of hope, it reminds us of the simple things in life that we can overlook, it nourishes us and informs us spiritually.

Perhaps, most importantly, it reminds us of the best of ourselves. It takes us into a place where we can celebrate simple pleasures. The pleasure of being with others, or soaking in the sunlight, or hanging out in a place of beauty and light.

In the image, Being Home, we are taken to the that place of fun and vacation. Hanging out at the campground, enjoying your home on wheels. A place that many of us experienced this past summer. Being in a space where we are with family and friends enjoying the wider space than being at home. Yet home is with us.

As we manage our lives during these times, finding art and music that takes us to another place becomes part of the quest. The hopefulness that occurs can change our brain. It can block pain and give you the sense that all is good. At the end of it all, that is the most important piece. Just feeling like there is hope.

To see prints of escape see www.memoryartgirl.com