Ground Yourself
October has been a truly exciting month for the team at Thortify, as the much anticipated launch of the first of our three workbooks actually took place on Monday 10th – to coincide with World Mental Health Day. The response in the first twenty-four hours was overwhelming, and wonderful in equal amounts, and initial feedback has been encouraging to hear – so a huge ‘THANK YOU’ from us!
Coincidentally, as the launch of the Ground Yourself workbook also happened right at the start of the week of the first ‘official’ Bee Creative Community face-to-face session since the pandemic called them to abrupt halt., it gave us the perfect opportunity to try out some of the grounding activities and also to bring to life the resource I have been banging on about for the past seven months!
My heart skipped happily as I watched the glorious full-colour cover emerging from my noisy printer, delighted to see that it was delivering each printed sheet, just as brightly as it appeared on my laptop screen. What is particularly good, is that you can choose to download the whole booklet, or just the worksheets, this will save on paper and ink. Of course you can simply view on line and work in a notebook or on paper if you choose.
I took along a few copies of three of the activities for the Bee Creatives to engage with. On this occasion it seemed as though the ‘Happy Place’ activity was the most popular, and I can totally see why. After more than two years of lockdowns, Covid quarantines and logistical issues, it has been almost impossible to pick up the momentum again that the regular weekly sessions had gained in the previous years. There was a tangible warmth being brought into the room with each individual as they arrived that continued to glow the whole time they sat together around that familiar table – it truly was magic.
There was an excited buzz as they leafed through the cheerful pages, cleverly illustrated by Evie Warren, in colours inspired by artist Tracey Meek’s fabulous work. The workbook definitely achieves what it set out to. Feedback following the session outlines how approachable and practical the group members found the activities.
‘The workbook is accessible and fun, with easy activities which are tempting and creative, presented in playful style – I love and will be using it.’
‘I’m enjoying the Ground Yourself Workbook – so many ideas to think about and put into practice. I have much difficult, emotional stuff to process at the moment so the workbook couldn’t have come at a better time.’
‘Spending time mindfully making art is so relaxing and offers a place of sanctuary.’
What I also noticed is how working together on the activities strengthened the bonds in this community group, new and old each individual sitting around the table felt that sense of belonging. We should do all we can to rebuild our communities, particularly post pandemic, and tackle the sense of isolation that some people are experiencing in society.
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Bees & love
Debra Thortify
