Using Art Therapy to create what you desire

I just so love and adore the new year. If you know me then you have heard me say, " you get a do-over". A do-over is a word we used as a kid. If you missed the ball while trying to hit it you got another chance. It didn't count, you get to call a do-over, and you get to do it again. I love kids because they really understand do-overs. You could spend half an hour pitching the ball and they call do-overs until they get it. That's pretty smart, asking for what you need. So I adore the new year, because it's like a natural do-over.

However, do we practice do-overs in our lives? Many of us practice "do-agains" instead. I looked back at my yearly journal entries and see many of the same goals, be more compassionate with my family, loose 10 lbs, etc. The resolutions are great until someone in my family does something and I get so frustrated or I sign-up to get 8 boxes of girl scout cookies, then I'm face with rewriting the same things next year. Does this sound familiar?

So I began to wonder why some really big things I set out to accomplish, like writing my book, happen and why other less difficult things don't happen. What I found was I needed some concrete outcomes, steps to take to get there, and supports around me to help me make the changes. Even bigger than action steps is the commitment I made to the change and how I decided to feel about it.

If there is specific area in your life that you are longing to transform allow yourself to focus on that one thing. Here's where the do-over comes in handy. You can change the way you think and feel about this by using your creative possibilities thinking. So identify the problem (one is enough), be very specific and clear what it is. Now go grab some art supplies, magazines, chalks, oil paster, markers, paint, whatever you have on hand. Sit with this problem and ask how would I be different if this problem was resolved, what would I be doing, thinking, or feeling? Allow yourself to use the art materials to express how different your life would feel and be if this was no longer an issue. This is your do-over. This is your map to make changes.

My collage hangs over my fireplace as a reminder of what I am choosing to create.