Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction. ~ Rumi
These words have been leading me through the week as the Moon waxes full in Virgo, while the Sun lingers in the last days of Pisces. Pisces is imaginative and dreamy, while Virgo is more practical. This can create a feeling of “push-pull” in a world in which the “push-pull” phenomenon seems to be the over-arching theme. For me, polarizing energies are a call for me to pay attention to balance. To take actions of self-care and in caring for others. To both sit with my heart to learn what it is that I need more of and/or less of, and also to take action. Enter the Vernal Equinox, one of two days a year when day and night are approximately equal in length. Balance!
I felt inspired to examine more closely what balance means to me by creating something 3-D. To physically play with balance. And so, I made a mobile. First, I did some writing.
Then I created the pieces I wanted to include.
Finally, I put it all together.
The final assemblage doesn’t feel final. It feels like a work in progress, a piece to hang in my creative space, here to remind me of the area of my life where I’m wanting more balance. Any interest in giving this a try?
Creativity Prompts
~ What needs balancing in your life?
Take out a sheet of blank paper or turn to a blank page in your journal and write the following lead lines and repeat. Set your timer for four minutes and write whatever wants to come.
I need more…
I need less…
I want more…
I want less…
If only I get have…
I’d like to let go of…
~ From the revelations of what came from your prompt, brainstorm a list of the polarities you find present in your life. The things that push you and pull you, the dichotomies, the "both-ands."
~ Expand on these warm-ups by writing for another 30 minutes about balance.
~ Now make a mobile. Draw and cut shapes from a piece of paper or cloth. You can either use one shape to write a pair of words, one on each side, or you can glue two shapes to illustrate a difference as I did. In my project, one side represents the moon, the quiet, the dreaminess of Pisces and winter, while the other side represents the sun, photosynthesis, action vitality, spring. Maybe your shapes line up as my circles do, all neat a tidy, or maybe your shapes are creatively askew, creating a new shape altogether once glued.
~ Use a needle and thread to punch a hole and draw a string or piece of yarn or wire through your shape, depending on what you’re going for, creating a hanging piece for your mobile. Make your lengths vary, either randomly, or have the length you assign to a shape make meaning. For example, maybe you want your loftier goals for balance to hang on a higher plane of your mobile.
~ Find a stick or a piece of driftwood or but a dowel at the hardware store to serve as the base for hanging your pieces. Have fun as you play with the setup and explore the physicality of balance as you create.
Possibilities…
* You can also vary the size of your shapes if you want some to hold more meaning than others. Feel free to add buttons or shells with holes or charms other paper with images on them to add visual interest to your creation.
* You can have more than one stick, make a cross, and go from there, or you can create different levels using sticks.
* Your mobile can hand freely in space or be created to be hung flat against a wall.
* It might be fun to make an ephemeral piece and hang it outside in a tree and send your words out like prayers on the wing.
* There are many beautiful images of various types of mobiles found online. I typed in making mobiles with sticks and paper and perused to see what appealed to me.
Remember: Your creative heart knows the way, too. As Rumi says, Run in that direction.