“I
found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other
way—things I had no words for.”
Georgia O’Keeffe
Between
the 24-hour news cycle, and the predominance of extroverts in the US (75%),
there are whole days I think I will scream if I hear another word. And
sometimes, I have an inexplicable mood come over me, so I will start drawing or
painting to figure out what it is—what’s going on inside. Sometimes, especially
for introverts, words just complicate things, and distract from the emotion. We
begin trying to find the words to express what we feel and get lost in the
words. That is one big difference between introverts and extroverts—the way we
process our thoughts and feelings. Extroverts process by talking—they’ll say, “I
didn’t know I felt that way until I said it.” Introverts process internally,
and therefore need alone time to go within and see what’s perking. Some of my busiest
processing times are in the middle of the night when there are no external distractions.
Like Georgia O’Keeffe, some of us think best in color and shape. Like Temple Grandin, we sort through our mental-image rolodex for the right expression and then reproduce it on paper or canvas. It may even take weeks or months for us to understand what we expressed. At the top of the page, for instance, is a painting I did when I was going through the break-up of a marriage. I titled it, “Out of the Matrix” but it was years before I figured out the connection. The orange and black painting was done by one of my sons around the same time—his experience of the break-up, unspoken.
In our homes, small scenarios are created simply by the way we place things in the room. We can make a space for quiet contemplation just by setting a chair in a nook, or by lighting a candle. We make statements by the kinds of things we display on tables and walls—what we place on our coffee tables and bookshelves are wordless messages. Even when we don’t intend to send a message, we are showing something about ourselves in what stays and what goes or gets put away. Our personal altars and alcoves are no different from creating a rock cairn to commemorate a place or an event. We humans communicate all the time, but not always with words.
I
wonder about you. Look around you and see what small scenarios you have created
that communicate you and what you value. Do you find yourself rearranging
things frequently? Do you want to change the colors in the rooms you inhabit on
a regular basis, or do they always stay the same? Notice what colors you choose;
are they bright, quiet, dark? Do you keep your windows covered, or do you open curtains
or blinds to let in natural light? Is it dark inside your house, or light? When
we become aware of what we do intuitively and without conscious intention, we
learn something more about our own nature—about the essence of who we are
inside. No words are necessary.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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