A caveat to the suggestions in this exercise. It’s an exercise that asks you to go deep and writing can release painful feelings and energy in the process, if you can stay with those feelings, without attaching or avoiding, they will pass through and the process becomes also one of healing.
We are in a triggering time where issues about women, the earth, our future can lead to discomfort so go easy with this exercise. Take a break anytime if necessary.
Engage your self care if necessary and/or the support of trusted others if the writing brings up feelings you find too difficult. Also allow yourself to experience joy of being and becoming
***
Get a pen and paper ready, glance at the image below then respond to the following questions. Write one or two words for each, a couple of sentences or more. There are no wrong answers. Take no more than five minutes for each question, set a timer.
Where did your journey begin?
Where is it taking you?
What is your ground of being?
Take a break, walk around. How do you feel? Perhaps make a note of that if you like. Then if you want go back to your notes. Look at what you’ve made.
Do you want to develop it? If so you can, add, delete, combine, cut and paste, revise, play with it. Give yourself another 15 minutes. Come back to it a few days later if you want and repeat this.
Matka stick sculpture by Olga Ziemska
“Cleveland-based sculptor Olga Ziemska works with natural materials like wood and bamboo to create mysteriously figurative installations for her series titled Stillness in motion: The Matka Series.
“Matka” means “mother” in Polish and essentially defines the figure that Ziemska recreates. Through this mold of a maternally inclined female, the artist symbolizes a place of origin, further hinting at “our first physical environment—the womb.”
“The artist says, “Through the repetition of the human form, the subtle characteristics of each environment will emerge naturally and visually. This body of work is ultimately a celebration of the diversity of place and also a homage to the similarities that underlie all things at their core.””
From Haunting Figure of a Woman Made with Wood and Bamboo by Pinar Noorata on April 13, 2013
https://mymodernmet.com/olga-ziemska-stillness-in-motion-the-matka-series/
If you want to take this further consider what is your relationship to the earth? When was the last time you walked in bare feet or touched the earth? Or what is your relationship to your mother? When did you last speak to her, touch her? And write about that.
More about Olga Ziemska here https://www.olgaziemska.com/
A blog post by Anne Enith Cooper
Find my bio here
Contact me here
BACK TO HOME
Seeds and Fuses 