swimming in deep water
surrounded by beautiful glass floats
watching the balls float around me
a different take on “balls up in the air”
they are so pretty and awesome, but I just can’t take care of all of them
In conversation, a friend shared a visual image that felt significant, knowing I would be interested to hear about it. I eagerly searched through my images for pieces to work with.
Image One
Original Images Used
Image 2
Original Images Used
Reflecting on the Images
Informally, we chatted back and forth about them.
Me: There is surrender in her expression – maybe not your experience?
Friend: I love it yes like “here we are – we’ll enjoy it and live it”!
Me: Yes! Not only surrender but dance.
Me: I didn’t even try to look for images that might portray the heavier side of this experience …
Me: Could that be reflective of my internal world, my perception of you, or both?
Friend: Both I hope 🙂
Me: Maybe this speaks a little to the support felt. Relating, positive reframes, felt encouragement in hard times
Friend: Oh yes! This is what it looks like when you have community.
It is such a relatable experience, overwhelmed by our own choices, by a desire to do it all. Through our shared meaning making, these images are decidedly not the full picture but a very intentional take on one side of this experience. They are a hard lean into the support felt through this experience.
Concept Building in Action
These images, and shared attention to them, help us both build a richer internal concept of the experience of friendship, community, and support within moments of ‘overwhelm’. They function as containers for both our internal worlds. When you feel something privately, it often exists as a diffuse general feeling. When you name it – and especially when another person receives that naming – the emotional construction becomes more stable, more coherent, more available to you. Images created become a physical representation of not only your individual experience, but your connection with another as you deepen your understanding and emotional concept of this experience.
