Art Heals

by Rochelle Melander

“Art is my cure to all this madness, sadness, and loss of belonging in the world and through it I’ll walk myself home.”
― Nikki Rowe

On Saturday, I had a book-making table at the library. I watched as a whole community of children rushed around playing with puppets, dancing to drum lines, and making tiny books.

One girl knew exactly what she wanted to write. She created a book called: How to Make Kids Less Annoying: A Parent’s Guide. Others needed prodding. I asked, “What interests you? What do you love to think about?” Sharks! Cats! Gymnastics! Once the children knew their topic, they focused on creating. It didn’t matter that the drums made it hard to hear each other. They had art to make.

Okay, maybe it mattered a little. A few kids kept putting their hands to their ears. But there was nothing we could do about the loud drums. So we wrote stories and drew pictures.

In the past week, I’ve read many articles, memes, and posts about how to move forward while feeling disappointment or fear. For me it all comes down to one thing: make art.

This is the time to write that book you’ve been wanting to write. People need your happy endings. People want stories that distract and comfort and heal. People need your guides to the natural world. People need your cookbooks and how-to guides.

But if you’re not a book writer, don’t worry. Just write. We need your poems and your blog posts. We need your words of hope and healing. We need your guidance on how to mend our socks and how to mend the world.

And if you don’t write for others, don’t worry. Write for you. Art heals. You will appreciate the feeling of putting pen to paper. You will experience joy of writing about your daily life. You will get something out of the daily discipline of scribbling down your observations and ideas.

I’ll close with the words of Corita Kent, “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.”

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Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is an author and ADHD-trained professional certified coach. She’s helped hundreds of people write and publish books. If you’re struggling to start or finish a project, connect with Rochelle to create a personalized plan for overcoming procrastination, dealing with distraction, and staying focused. Book a private consultation: https://writenowcoach.com/consultation/