As shared in The Onward Workbook, we can think of strong, uncomfortable emotions as storms that pass us by. When we can imagine ourselves as a tree with deep roots, it can help us manage the experience and remember that it’s temporary.
This is a great activity to help us stay grounded in the present: Divide your paper into three sections. In the first using black or brown crayons, draw yourself as a tree. What kind of tree are you? What season are you in? Do you have fruit? Include deep roots, foliage and any creatures that might live on or around you.
In the second section, using the crayon, draw yourself as the tree again, but this time, draw and paint a storm passing by. You can use other colors for the storm if you want. You can make it as big or as mild as you want. You may need to change an element of the tree; you may want to draw some leaves blowing off, or branches bending.
In the third section. draw yourself as a tree after the storm. What do you look like?
What was this reflective activity like for you? Love guest blogger Lori Cohen‘s take on this activity as pictured above: “I do the #OnwardTheBook workbook exercise as meditations, which is fitting for this month. This one, “A Tree in a Storm” was a great one for October as we root ourselves into the rest of the school year.” Thanks Lori for being an inspiration in this work.