My Dad was always going on about the importance of recognising that all aspects of the person are connected to each other, and have consequences for each other. The “unity of body, mind and spirit” was one of his mantras. If there are problems with any one of these dimensions of our being, there are consequences in the others. Today I really have come to realise the importance of that insight.
The day before yesterday I had a minor accident in the garden. In the process of putting garden clippings into the garden recycling bin I tripped over a low wall and cut my shin badly. Although my wife made a worthy effort to patch me up, after a disturbed night it became evident that rather more professional help was probably advisable, and she took me to the accident and emergency department at our local hospital. Apart from their ability to make a far tidier job of the dressing I was X-rayed to see if the bone was damaged, checked for possible septicaemia and given an anti-tetanus injection. It is rather sore, but physically I’m functioning pretty-well normally. Let’s face it, this is a rather minor wound we are talking about here.
To my surprise, however, the effect of the incident seems to have been far wider than the actual cut to my shin. I have been sleeping badly, and could probably be identified as experiencing some symptoms of shock. The most startling aspect of the experience has been its impact oil my emotional state. Possibly at my age one develops a heightened awareness of one’s physical vulnerability, even so I have been in a delicate state all day.
Last night I found the life-drawing group I attend each week to be noticeably less satisfactory than usual, and felt that I was getting very little out of it. Today I have been doing other (more boring, administrative) things, and not attempting to paint, so it has not been possible to see whether that too would have been involved in my disturbed condition. I am aware, however, that throughout the day I have been feeling very critical of my work. The experience really has underlined for me the importance of looking “the whole person”.