Forest

our haiku/short prose:

Feel the gentle breeze

The leaves rustle in rhythm

To nature’s heartbeat

Transcript for Forest

Welcome to this short mindfulness practice looking at this artwork “Forest’.

Before we begin mindfully looking at the artwork, let’s take a few moments to settle ourselves into the present moment. . And by that I mean, let’s tune into the here and now using our senses. So whether you’re seated or standing, what’s it like to send your attention to whatever is supporting your body. Can you notice the sensations of your feet on the floor or the sensations of your body against the bed or chair that you’re on. This can sometimes be difficult to do, especially if we’re doing it for the first time or if our minds are particularly busy today but let’s give it a go.

Perhaps you notice a certain temperature or texture in the areas where your body is in contact with the floor or furniture.  Perhaps you notice the weight of your body. Perhaps you notice whether you’re tensing certain areas. Your shoulders perhaps, or jaw. And if you do notice this, see if it’s possible to soften or loosen those areas. As best you can. Remembering that if they become tense again through this practice or throughout the rest of the day, you can always intentionally soften them again and again throughout your day.

Tuning into how we’re holding our bodies can help us become more aware of them. And this in turn helps us to respond to them with gentleness, inviting them to soften, unclench, loosen whenever possible. Some days it might not feel possible to do this and that’s ok, you can always try again another time.

So let’s move away from that settling in practice and bring our full attention to the artwork.

Allowing your eyes to travel around the image. Freely exploring what there is to see. Noticing colours, textures, shapes, lines, areas of light and those of shade.

What do you notice about the colours? How would you describe them? Are they warm, cool? A mixture of both perhaps?

And what did you notice about shapes?  Scattered shapes of leaves all around  - sycamore, oak, beech and birch leaves. Look and notice how different they all are from each other, in colour as well as shape. Some are flat with no detail whilst others appear almost translucent. We see the veins of the leaf on the surface of the artwork.

The colour palette is one that most of us would recognise as autumnal. Shades of Green, yellow, orange and brown take up most of the surface. But as we look for longer we begin to notice another colour is present.

Curious little pops of blue that stand out from the rest. Two solitary blue leaves rest on the bottom branch, accompanied by a small cluster of intriguing pale blue lines just beneath them. Can you notice blue anywhere else? The hint of pale blue sky in the background. But what is that near the top right corner, resting in the highest branch. A blue bird’s nest perhaps?

As with the other artworks in this series you can return to this image again and again. The artworks are layered with so much detail that there will always be something new to notice. A new leaf here and a new colour there - a detail you missed the last time.

Why not share some of your thoughts about this artwork or this exercise with someone you know.