{"id":19243,"date":"2015-01-13T09:00:59","date_gmt":"2015-01-13T09:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturestudio.com\/?p=2211"},"modified":"2024-03-05T15:49:17","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T15:49:17","slug":"painting-can-refresh-mind-tips-winston-churchill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturestudio.com\/painting-can-refresh-mind-tips-winston-churchill\/","title":{"rendered":"How painting can refresh your mind – tips from Winston Churchill"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\"Winston<\/p>\n

100 years ago Winston Churchill wasn\u2019t yet Prime Minister of Britain, but he was a leading politician making key decisions in World War 1.<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was stressed<\/strong>! (even though that term\u00a0wasn’t in use\u00a0then)<\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, he describes his job as causing him\u00a0great anxiety.<\/p>\n

He\u00a0felt removed from the action with too much time on his hands to worry.<\/p>\n

It was no coincidence that it was at this point that he found painting. Or rather, he describes the Muse of Painting as having come to his rescue.<\/p>\n

Over the holidays I\u2019ve been reading \u2018Painting as a Pastime<\/a>\u2019 by Winston Churchill.\u00a0 In this compact little book he explains his theory of why painting is such a good \u2018pastime\u2019 to cultivate.<\/p>\n

As he sees it the key is that, to most of us, painting is an activity that uses a different part of our mind than our normal everyday activities.<\/p>\n

Instead of reading, thinking, analysing, talking and even worrying, painting requires close observation (REAL \u2018seeing\u2019 rather than thinking) and hand-eye coordination.<\/p>\n

Churchill describes how the worn parts of the mind can be rested and restored, not just by giving them a break, but by actively using different parts of the brain.<\/h3>\n

Churchill wrote this long before the modern neuroscience discoveries about the differing roles of the left and right hemispheres of our brain, but to me it does sound like Churchill was observing the way that the \u2018right brain\u2019 activity of painting can offer rest for the \u2018left\u2019 brain usually engaged in analytical activities.<\/p>\n

As he puts it:<\/p>\n

It is no use saying to the tired \u2018mental muscles\u2019\u2026\u201dI will give you a good rest\u201d, \u2018I will go for a long walk\u2019, or \u2018I will lie down and think of nothing\u2019. The mind keeps busy just the same. If it has been weighing and measuring it goes on weighing and measuring. If it has been worrying, it goes on worrying. It is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendent, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is for this reason that Churchill argues that having a hobby is VITAL for everyone.<\/p>\n

I find it really interesting.<\/p>\n

What Churchill seems to be describing is the need to be able to \u2018switch off\u2019.\u00a0 For the majority of people in the West (especially of working age), hobbies are increasingly rare.<\/p>\n

Often people say that they are too busy for a hobby, when the reality is that they use TV, often for hours each day, as their way to \u2018switch off\u2019.<\/p>\n

TV is certainly the easy way to relax. I know I watch more than my fair share of it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s really absorbing.<\/p>\n

But as author Eckhart Tolle has described, and as you’ve probably observed for yourself, most TV watching as putting you into a sort of semi-consciousness which is both relaxing but ultimately depleting of energy and creativity:<\/p>\n

\n

Your mind is inactive only in the sense that it is not producing thoughts. It is, however, continuously absorbing thoughts and images that come through the TV screen. This induces a trancelike passive state of heightened susceptibility, not unlike hypnosis. That is why it lends itself to manipulation of \u201cpublic opinion,\u201d as politicians and special-interest groups as well as advertisers know and will pay millions of dollars to catch you in that state of receptive unawareness. They want their thoughts to become your thoughts, and usually they succeed. So when watching television, the tendency is for you to fall below thought, not rise above it. Television has this in common with alcohol and certain other drugs. ~ Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In contrast, engaging in an activity such as painting involves being fully conscious, \u2018total\u2019 or fully mentally present in what you do.<\/p>\n

As Churchill, writing before the age of TV, puts it:<\/p>\n

Painting is complete distraction. I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body, more entirely absorbs the mind. Whatever the worries of the hour or the threats of the future, once the painting has begun to flow along, there is no room for them in the mental screen. They pass out into shadow and darkness. All one\u2019s mental life, such as it is, becomes concentrated on the task.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He could also be describing meditation – from Eastern philosophy or from more modern mindfulness practices. And I believe there is a link here.<\/p>\n

If one can get into the \u2018flow\u2019 state with our painting, we are truly at one with it and the mind is quietened in a positive and restorative way.<\/p>\n

And for those of us not well practiced in meditation (I for one am always promising myself I will make more time for it), painting can prove an especially useful addition to helping bring balance to our mental and emotional lives.<\/p>\n

It certainly did for the remarkable Winston Churchill who managed to keep a clear head throughout the Second World War and played a key role in providing confident, reassuring leadership for Britain during that frightening time.<\/p>\n

I’d love to hear your own thoughts on this subject and whether you find painting to\u00a0be restorative for yourself.<\/p>\n

Please let me know in the comments below!<\/p>\n

Happy painting!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘Painting is complete distraction. I know of nothing which, without exhausting the body, more entirely absorbs the mind.’ <\/p>\n

Winston Churchill’s book ‘Painting as a Pastime’ offers insights into just how beneficial the hobby can be!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,6,12,5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow painting can refresh your mind - tips from Winston Churchill - Nature Studio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winston Churchill loved to paint - he felt it helped bring rest and rejuvenation to his mind. 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