We came home today from a 5-hour workshop conducted by NCC for cancer patients & thier families. It is one of the many “Patient Education Programmes” that the Centre holds every year and Irene & I have attended a couple of them. This is the 1st time that Rachel is joining us, as this workshop involves family bonding. It is basically an Art Therapy session.
I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed it & especially seeing other families & friends bonding together that brings joy & hope for the patients. I also have to add that these patients are really very brave, with such positive outlook even in their condition. So much so, Rachel commented that she has never seen so many happy people in a single room before.
We started of by introducing ourselves & went round collecting outline drawings of each other’s hand or foot on a piece of paper, so as to get to know one another better – a good ice-breaker. The 2 coaches then handed out a huge brown paper to each family or group of friends for us to draw & paint any parts of our bodies. Rachel was really quick to think out of the box & made herself lie face-down on the brown paper.
Here I am trying to draw an outline of Rachel lying down on the brown paper.
Rachel & me busy painting.
Irene & Rachel concentrating hard on the finishing touches.
Ta-dam! our masterpiece…that’s Irene’s arm & part of my fat legs 
Some artworks by other families.
Next we were told to paint something that will show what each family or group of friends represented on canvas. The coaches also gave us some useful tips on how to use acrylic paint.
As we quite often have our tea time together in the night chit-chatting about stuffs, we decided to draw coffee cups to signify how we bond together as a family.
Rachel started by drawing the outlines of the coffee cups on the canvas.
Then we added in the background spreading the paint with plastic knifes.
Another masterpiece….. Ok, let me explain our painting.
If you looked closely, you would have notice that only 3 cups are filled with hot beverages. Well, the empty cup obviously represents Michelle as she is away in London & thus could not enjoy the moments with us. The little bird on her cup says that she flew away …….hahaha.
The one with the little red flower belongs to Irene which signifies happiness. Rachel’s cup is the one with stripes……maybe to signify youth.
Mine is the plain looking cup that shows I have to be anything at anytime, so as to give my full support & love to my wife Irene, Rachel and Michelle….wah like real lidat huh
Some great works by other families.
So whether Art Therapy is useful for patients or not, I can’t really tell in this one session. I guess the main idea of this kind of therapy is to let the patients feel that they have the support from their loved ones & friends and for them to focus their minds on creative thoughts rather than their illnesses.
Well, Irene have already made new friends today & that gives her the assurance that she is not alone and we are always here for her.
Read Full Post »
"You'll see that simplifying is not necessarily about getting rid of everything we've worked so hard for. It's about making wise choices among the things we now have to choose from. It's about recognizing that trying to have it all has gotten in the way of enjoying the things that truly do add to our happiness and well-being. So it's about deciding what's important to us, and gracefully letting go of the things that are'nt."
