Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy

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CHAPTER SIX

Nature-Based Expressive Arts

Cultivating an Aesthetic Response to the World

Homecoming

In the saddle of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

mother moon rose golden

over desert sand

We were there for the quiet

preserved in public land

and pre-dawn light

We were there for the sacraments

Chop wood. Carry water.

Stack stone. Make fire.

With the silent smoke of sage and cedar

we blessed our noise weary bones

at last, coming home.

Melia Snyder

In this summary chapter we integrate the ideas and experiences
discussed in the previous chapters and reflect upon the intertwining
lateral rootlets and rhizomatic relationships among the stories
we have shared. We discuss the themes that have emerged in our
research and the application of these themes to professional work
and to life. Like the horizontal root systems of the aspen grove, the