NATURE-BASED EXPRESSIVE ARTS 123
Stories of active hope in therapy
These stories of resilience are living examples of tending the Earth
and the human soul through our lives and work, a practice of active
hope. According to Brené Brown (2010) hope is not an emotion,
but rather a cognitive process that can be learned. Hope involves the
setting of realistic goals, the tenacity and perseverance to meet them
through achievable and flexible means, and belief in ourselves. Hope
engenders power, that is the ability to effect change in our lives and
world. Hope is a primary ingredient of resilience and an antidote for
fear, doubt and powerlessness.
William Coperthwaite and John Saltmarsh (2007), in their
book A Handmade Life , suggest that work is most valuable when it
is visible, when we enjoy and believe in it, when it takes us actively
and deeply into the world and what we care for, and when it is in
service to something beyond ourselves. Specifically, Coperthwaite
and Saltmarsh challenge our culture’s attitude toward work as
drudgery, as obligation, and as something that removes or separates
us from living. In order to be whole and healthy people, we need
work that awakens our creativity and keeps us connected with the
idea of “bread labor” (p.34), that is, basic work necessary for living.
When we work in the garden, tend our children and engage in the
many ways of daily making, we feed ourselves and our souls.
As a wilderness therapist, the young boys I (Melia) worked with
were responsible for chopping wood and making fire to keep our
cabin warm. If they neglected their duties, we were all cold. If they did
not clean the dishes properly, we were sick. This direct relationship
between person and environment was not idyllic but real—a counter
narrative to the mixed messages and complicated family dynamics
to which they were accustomed. Although the directness of nature’s
feedback was often abrupt and undesired, in the long run it fostered
trust, resiliency and a sense of interdependence. Initially their “bread
labor” seemed a chore and was met with complaining, making excuses
and creating drama to avoid responsibility. Over time, however, the
boys began telling stories and singing as they worked in the garden,