Tom #IIdentifyAsAPoet #poeticnursingheart <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The therapeutic beauty of poetry <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I thought I understood expression and practiced self-acceptance prior to being a part of the Poetic Nursing Heart community. I was na\u00efve. It wasn\u2019t until a few days later that I reflected on what I had achieved whilst being a part of the community, and I soon realised how accepted I felt. I could be myself. I was able to be me and express myself in ways I wasn\u2019t competent at doing before. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unique experience encouraged me to think about my identity, and the connection I have towards my emotions. Emotions have a lot to do with our interpretation of an event, and the Poetic Nursing Heart community enabled me to discreetly let my inner thoughts free. Like a butterfly, it was beautiful and creative, and I felt a wonderful sense of freedom. It was like I had engaged myself in a therapy that I had always wanted to involved in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were no, \u201cwhy do you feel this way\u201d, or, \u201cwhat does that mean?\u201d \u2013 it was pure expression, it felt real. I had never written or even read poetry before being invited into the community, and I soon discovered that poetry was an expression in writing that I couldn\u2019t achieve anywhere else. It was a form of art with an unbounded meaning. I also realised that my new love for expressive art had the opportunity to positively impact others who may have experienced similar traumas in their life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In nursing, we are often reminded of the importance of unconditional positive regard, and I feel the true value of this when I am a part of the Poetic Nursing Heart community. My first engagement with the Poetic Nursing Heart community enabled me to understand the value and therapeutic purposes of poetry in a group setting. The group dynamics initiated a sense of hope and freedom, and I was provided with comfort and acceptance that I have not felt or experienced previously. Communicating through poetry and art when you are struggling to talk about a personal trauma was like finding a new meaning to life. Dance has always been my therapy, but like music, I realised that listening to the beautiful poetry of others vividly encompassed emotions which everybody could relate to. Like dance, it was powerful, sentimental and spoke a universal language. I am grateful that the community naturally promotes independence, creativity and acceptance. Without these, I doubt I would have felt as valued and as appreciated as I did. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Francesca Hufton,<\/strong> Mental Health Nursing Student<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the dawn of THEawards Francesca Hufton reflects on her very first symposium. She understands, engages and reflects the ethos of the butterfly flame beautifully. I adore how this small […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3361,"featured_media":1341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-partners-in-learning","category-poetic-nursing-heart"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/partnersinlearning\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/481\/2019\/12\/image.png\")
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