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Eco Grief Art Activity

Climate Change and Highly Sensitive People

 Climate change is causing Mother Earth and many of her plants and animals to suffer and highly sensitive people often carry the emotional and psychological burden of these times. This spiritual art activity was created to help highly sensitive people express and release some of the grief and loss they feel. It is also created to invite others to help shoulder some of the spiritual and emotional burden of these ecologically troubled times. Scroll down for a version of this art activity you can print and use.

Yesterday I had a vision. I saw a community leading a wise woman to a spot in the forest and asking her to tell them how the trees and the earth were feeling and what they needed. This vision captures how I wish our society operated. I wish, before they sent the bulldozers and monster-sized machines to form and shape the land in a way they feel suits them better, the people making these decisions communicated not only with scientists but with people sensitive enough to feel the environment as well. I wish how the Earth felt was important and I wish her needs were considered more.

One of the reasons I identify as a witch and I explore nature spirituality is because these are the only spiritual paths in my ancestry that I feel embody strongly enough the relationship I want to have with my earth Mother. Deepening my connection with the earth is difficult these days because there are so many places on her body that are hurting and so many of her plants and animals that are dying or suffering in ways that we humans have caused. Witnessing the neglect and the abuse and the death and all the other consequences of humanity’s selfish pursuits is really hard – like gut-wrenching shards of pain kind of hard. No wonder so many of us ignore what’s happening and prefer to look away.

I also understand that so many people can’t connect emotionally or energetically to what is happening to nature and Mother Earth because they are disconnected from themselves. You can’t know and feel the earth and her needs if you don’t even feel and know your own heart and her needs. The more deeply I attuned to my own emotional needs the deeper my sensitivity to Mother Earth and her needs became.

I created the following art activity as a way to inspire an emotional connection to Mother Earth and her plants and animals. I also created it as a way to inspire you or your children to become more aware of how the plants and animals are doing in and around the place you live. The fact that we are losing so much so quickly ecologically speaking is devastating. Even more devastating is the idea that most people won’t care to acknowledge or witness the loss. For those highly sensitive witches and people who are already emotionally connected to nature and the suffering she faces as a result of climate change, I created this activity as a way to express and process the ecological grief you shoulder.

This spiritual art activity is simple but it’s not easy. It’s not easy to face humanity’s darkness. It’s not easy to learn about the wounds we forced Mother Earth to endure. It’s not easy to open the heart to the ocean-sized pools of collective grief that are hanging around us all the time. We are losing landscapes, untouched spaces, magically potent places and entire ecosystems and species. Choosing to feel the pain and loss that accompanies climate change is not for the faint of heart. That’s why I consider highly sensitive people some of the strongest souls I know. People often tell them to stop being so sensitive but sensitivity is exactly what we need more of. We need to feel and feel deeply so our decisions as humans can change and come from a place of deep sensitivity to our earth mother and the abundance of life she nurtures. There has been far too much insensitivity guiding our decisions and politics.

To complete the activity, research and find an environment or species that is struggling to survive in or around the area you live. Learn about humanity’s role in that species’ struggle to survive. If you can, visit a relevant location in nature and try to feel in your heart what the surroundings are experiencing. Print the page I’ve included below and draw what you feel.

This art activity is also included in the September 2018 issue of Oriana’s Moonside Companion which is a hand-drawn workbook with activities that are thoughtfully designed to help healers and creative entrepreneurs live with magic and intention and nurture themselves, their business and their families. You can subscribe or learn more about it here.

Download Art Activity Here

If you do complete this art activity publicly or share photos of the art activity or perform the activity with a group, please respect the work of this artist and creator by mentioning the source and/or providing a link back to this original post. Also, if you end up completing this activity, I’d love to see what you created. You can even post the finished piece on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #danasartrituals or email me at support@danadaponte.com and share with me how it went for you.

with love,

Dana da Ponte

 

 

 

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This is a space where art and spirit come together. On the blog, I share art rituals for working with the magic of the moon. I also work with the subconscious mind to lighten your emotional load and follow your creative dreams.

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