The Naked Journal
Thoughts, musings, and meanings behind NakedPastor Art.
The Naked Journal
Change Doesn't Always Have to be Difficult and Ugly
I visited a butterfly house. Of course my mind was turned to Sophia, especially my drawing of her, "Metamorphosis". A friend of mine takes care of the chrysalises and butterflies. I was surprised to see many different ones. One is a very shiny silver and the other is a very shiny gold. Amazing and breathtaking beauty! It made me acknowledge that change, transformation, doesn't always have to be difficult and ugly. Of course, often it is. In fact, sometimes it feels impossible. Like... inside those cocoons is goo. Not nice. Which is why so many people resist it. Change can be adventurous, exciting, and full of happiness as we change from one thing into something else. The people I see changing might be experiencing some difficulty and feel ugly at the time, but frequently from my perspective they are becoming even more beautiful, amazing and marvellous. During change, we not only lose things. This can be difficult and ugly. But we also gain things. This can be pleasurable and beautiful. I'm watching this happen all the time in my online communities. I invite you to buy THE LIBERATION OF SOPHIA... a book about my change told through the story of a woman who changes.
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The Importance of Being Creative During Faith Deconstruction
Making art was an important part of my healing and reconstruction process. I didn't know this at the beginning of my deconstruction. It didn't know this consciously after I'd left the ministry and the church. In fact, it wasn't until I published my book, The Liberation of Sophia, that I realized making art helped save me. Let me explain. It was the week after I left the church when I drew my first Sophia drawing. The one with the bear. Sophia Fearless. The inspiration to draw her was unstoppable. It was four years later when I drew my last one. The inspiration to draw her stopped. Stopped cold! It was when it stopped that I realized it was probably important that I did it. Drawing Sophia every week and writing about her journey was, I concluded, a crucial part of my healing. Cathartic! It's strange, but when I stopped drawing Sophia, I learned how important being creative is. Being creative just for creativity's sake! I need to get in that again. I advise people when they are going through deconstruction to be creative and discipline themselves to be creative every day. It helps. It works! (If you’re looking for some ways to spark your creativity read this blog) Why? Because now I realize that creating things does something positive for us: It gives us some happiness, because even while we are crashing and our world is crashing around us, that we can still create something. It inspires us, that even though we might feel ugly in an ugly world, there are still remarkable things of beauty to be enjoyed. It empowers us to know that even while everything seems to be conspiring to stop us, we will still give birth to new and wonderful things. So, here's our exercise: I believe everyone is a creator. Everyone is an artist. What are you making? What can you make? A painting? A dance? A poem? A journal entry? A blog post? A perfect medium rare steak? An awesome daily post? A flower arrangement? An urn? A sound of a crow? A computer code? Anything! I'd love to hear, see, and know what kind of things you guys are creating.
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