18/06/2015

Get Messy Season of Adventure - Prompt 3

I have to say that I have not been feeling much like doing anything of anything this past week as I have been struggling with some very sad news here and I have found it very hard to want to focus on anything but my family.

I work in a hotel and for the past three years we have had a very lovely man stay with us every week. Every Friday he would fly home to be with his family and after such a long time staying with us he had become like part of the family for all the staff here. Sadly he collapsed here in front of the hotel last Thursday and he died from a brain hemorrhage on Saturday morning. He has young children and a wife who had to fly over from Poland to give permission for the hospital to turn off life support.

I'm not posting this here for sympathy. I don't need "virtual hugs", I've done my crying for this wonderful, gentle man and his wife and children. Any sympathy you have should be directed to his wife, god knows she needs it more than me.

I'm posting this to show that art journaling helped me this week. It helped a lot and I know we all read about the "healing" part of this process but I always took it with a pinch of salt, I'm not a great one for "writing" about my feelings I'd rather talk about them with my family.

One of our journalling points was "something we would never do" and I really felt that after the events of this week there is nothing and no one who would make me be away from my family. They are my greatest adventure and there is nothing to compare to that. We don't always realise how short and unfair life can be and we take things for granted. I know this tragedy has made me see that my family is the most important thing in my life and it is so important for me to cherish them and to make sure that they know how much I love them.

I kept my page very simple and used some black and white photos from a magazine. This was not a colorful week for me so I did not feel right reflecting this in my journal for this week.


The quote was added using a dymo label maker. I read this a few weeks ago and I thought it was a really beautiful sentiment. It seemed to ring very true this week to me.


I just journalled over the top of the photo I stuck on here and kept it simple and heartfelt this week.

I'm happy with this page because it's not happy. It's raw and I know I will look back and remember this time when I look at this page. I want to remember. To remember him and and his family and the lesson I feel like he had taught me about what is important.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Karen, thank you so much for sharing this with us, in such a heartfelt, honest and visually beautiful way. You have really reminded me what is important. Thank you again. Lots of love xx

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  2. I love the pared back, raw feel of these pages and the black and white works perfectly. I too was thinking about family and how I would never be away from them, and in a round about way, that's exactly what my pages are about - I turned down an opportunity because I couldn't move away from what I knew.

    Meanwhile, so sorry to hear of that tragic news. I can understand how it must have affected you. My Mum thankfully survived a brain hemorrhage 5 years ago and it really changed our outlook on life. Big hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the pared back, raw feel of these pages and the black and white works perfectly. I too was thinking about family and how I would never be away from them, and in a round about way, that's exactly what my pages are about - I turned down an opportunity because I couldn't move away from what I knew.

    Meanwhile, so sorry to hear of that tragic news. I can understand how it must have affected you. My Mum thankfully survived a brain hemorrhage 5 years ago and it really changed our outlook on life. Big hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a sad and beautiful story. This page will forever remind you of what you were feeling. And really, that is why we art journal. To honor what has happened to us, in our lives. To take stock.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hiya Karen,

    This really was a story that really hit all the right spots in the feel center. And it was such an absolutely beautiful story as well, so raw and genuine.
    Great job and a great use of the Dymo to achieve a more "darker" effect to the text.

    Thank you for sharing and best wishes,
    Jesper K
    DYMOSupport

    ReplyDelete

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