Dragonfly
Be Still
3 Questions:
How do you feel when you look at this picture? Are there any feelings in your body you can describe?
How does it feel to only focus on the dragonfly?
Do you identify with any part of the picture? Don’t overthink it. Which part of the picture are you drawn to?
Let these questions guide you as you sit still with this picture for 5 minutes.
Read
My time with this picture:
Focusing on the dragonfly.
Not having to manage everything, or even be aware of it for a bit, I feel myself take a deep breath and relax and appreciate the beauty and intricacy of the focal point. It is such a relief to be given an image that already has the background shut out, to easily focus on life. The delicate fleeting beauty of life. She pauses, likely only for a moment, feels the warmth of the sun then moves on. Life continues. Busyness continues. But for at least one moment, and likely several moments throughout the day, she pauses, and rests.
Where am I in the photo?
I identify with the stick! I know it sounds crazy but when I stare at the picture, the stick that the dragonfly is sitting on drew my attention. So I sat with that for a while and considered the role the stick plays in the scene. What is the stick doing?
It is:
steadying and supportive
providing rest for the weary
highlighting beauty
upholding
Maybe you identified with the background. How does it feel not to be the focus? Are you relieved? Hurt? Are you content to wait for your turn to be the focus? To be noticed?
Or is it frustrating? Does it feel like it’s never your turn? Maybe you’d like to explore that feeling?
write
Recount a time when being left out was particularly painful.
Can you picture the scene? What else is happening around you? What are your feelings really about? Where do you feel it in your body? How does it feel? Dig deep.
Recount a time when you were the focus. How does it feel? What else is happening in the scene? Are others happy to give you attention, or is someone left out? What are these feelings really about?
Recount a time when someone else was the focus and you were fine with it; you were happy for them. How did that feel?
What do you need from the people closest to you to feel seen? Write it down and be as honest and specific as possible. Then, can you communicate that with them? *side note: you may feel like you can’t communicate with them about this. May I suggest that if that is true, you should reconsider who you consider your closest people. It might be time to lose some of your people and find other people. But feeling that you can’t communicate with them about this might be something you can fix. Before you start letting people go, gather your courage, have a little faith in your people, and try communicating. After all, this is about YOU seeing yourself, seeing your needs, and attending to them.
From ideas to action!
Make a plan to take those specifics you’ve listed, that make you feel seen, and gift them to others this week. Was it eye contact? Was it undistracted listening? Was it gifts? Was it a phone call out of the blue just to check in? Whatever it was, pay it forward and take note of how that feels. Give without strings attached, just for the joy of giving. Maybe we start the process of healing in our lives by generously giving away what would fill us up.
