Lionheart Grief Coaching

Art has been a therapeutic outlet for grieving for me. It always has been. Something I continue to be amazed by is how much I want to control the outcome of my art (much like my life) and how often things go unexpectedly, despite my best efforts.

When I focus on controlling the moment and the eventual outcome, my stress and anxiety increase, making the process less therapeutic and more difficult. Resisting the unexpected aspects of my art in favor of perfection, I lose the joy of the process and can’t see the ways in which the unexpected creates unlooked-for beauty. 

But, when I accept the natural surprises of the flow of my art, I find I have more room to allow joy and acceptance into the process.

The same is true of grief.

Whenever we try to manage our emotions, to control them, we can find ourselves even more stressed and anxious. No matter how hard we control and suppress them, they seem to find their way out, making our grief journey even more messy and painful.

Accepting that grief is messy and allowing the natural unexpected turns to take their course doesn’t make the journey easy, but it does keep it from being harder. Allowing the various emotions their own space, just like allowing the paint to go where it flows, opens us up to exploration, learning, and growth.