Art Therapy Round Two: Part 2

I'm blogging with my neighbor's cat right now. He's contributing to lowering my blood pressure and head butting the computer. Both very important jobs.

In the following drawing I used crappy pastels. The prompt was to draw a tree of life. I finished early, so I also wrote a description on the back of the paper.

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Tree of Life

November 25, 2011

Description: "The cleansing rain is passing over my tree. The parts it already passed are starting to develop and thrive. The supportive sunshine is helping to motivate a flower of hope to grow. The tree grew in an environment that was difficult. There weren't as many nutrients as it needed, but now that the rain is passing, more things can grow and be healthy and the roots can grow stronger. Part of the tree is still on fire. A support holds the branch up so that it doesn't fall. The rain is beginning to put the flames out. After they're out, the whole tree can begin to thrive after the drought. Other trees and shrubs are nearby the tree so it isn't completely alone. They show that the tree can become filled with flowers once all of the flames are out."

The tree represents me. The rain represents both good and bad. It represents bad times passing by, but in its wake I am stronger. My hard work cleanses away some of the suffering, represented by the flames. The sunshine represents the things that give me hope: using skills has been working, my family and friends are being supportive, I am getting help from the mental health system, and I am finding meaning through making goals. The flower represents the growing hope and the sign of one flower growing means that there are other buds that are about to bloom. The ground is yellow because of my abusive past, but the green sprouts of grass are the things that I've started to change in how I view my past. The support that holds the branch up represents therapy helping to keep me on the right track and holding me up where I am struggling. The plant life surrounding the tree show my friends and family surrounding me and reminding me that I am not alone and that I can feel better.