Hello !
How are you feeling today?
Today is day 28 of the confinement .
I ended my 3rd leporello sketchbook with Camille again, taking a sun bath on the stairs.
The video is below. I won’t share all the videos in this blogpost, but you can see them on my Youtube channel.
And I started a 4th leporello sketchbook, again a Fabriano sketchbook, and started it with a view from our front garden.
I hesitated to draw that view… I feel very privileged to be confined in a beautiful house with a lovely husband, and I see every day people in great difficulty! Inequality is getting worse: the gap between rich and poor is getting deeper and deeper…. Some are in great difficulty now… confined in small apartments with noisy kids not going to schools, some with a violent husband, some others are really very lonely… some lost their jobs and income…. I hope the world will recover from this and that our governments will do something about these inequalities…
Do you find time to take care of yourself and your loved ones?
I feel guilty for not being productive for my work in the office, for not working a lot. I feel like I’m failing. I feel lost and overwhelmed. Do you feel that as well? Actually: that’s normal. Know that you’re not failing. We’re busy adapting ourselves and we’re busy staying healthy and safe. Let go of the ideas of what you should be doing right now.
I wanted to make some suggestions for rest and self care.
I heard this interesting interview about our traumatic situation with trauma expert, Bessel van der Kolk, with some interesting tips to structure our confined lives. Be kind for yourselves. Try to bring a new structure in this strange times. We need time to adapt ourselves. Take care of yourselves. (For the Dutch speaking readers: read more in Dutch on the great blog of Danni Hoedemakers: Www.mensenmaat.com . She’s giving wonderful tips.)
A way to bring new structure in our life is to wake up at the same time every morning, and find a routine during the day, with some physical exercise, some meditation if you want to, and other routines, like cooking, drawing,…. And try to go to bed at the same time every night and get enough sleep. Most people need 8 hours sleep. Sleep is very important.
Another nice routine is to write morning pages : three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. Here’s what Julia Cameron writes about her morning pages in “The Artist’s way”: “ There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages. They are about anything and everything— and they are not to be shared with anyone. Yes, they must be done by hand. Yes, they must be done in the morning. If we do “evening pages,” we are reflecting on a day that we have already had, and are powerless to change. Morning Pages empower us and give us clarity, helping us to find tiny choice points in the day ahead. “
And she explains more: “I think that right now, with our enforced solitude, many of us find ourselves becoming more introspective. The pages channel that introspection. Many of us are asking ourselves, “Who am I without all of my outer accoutrements? Who am I without my office, my social life, my gym, my travel schedule…” and the answer to “Who am I?” is what comes to us through writing Morning Pages. I think that when we are feeling trapped, isolated and alone, this tool is particularly valuable. “
Here’s the link: https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/
And let me finish this post with some music. Music is great for the soul… : Andrea Bocelli sang an eastern concert in Milan cathedral this weekend. It was streamed live in internet. And outside the cathedral he sang “Amazing Grace”…. The full video is available on Andrea Bocellis channel. It’s very beautiful, with images of empty cities all over the world…
Take good care of yourselves, and tell me in the comments below if you have questions or suggestions for future drawings we could make together
