“The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much”-Luke 16:10

Testimonies from our recent Cuban Expressive Arts in Transition participants:

“Volviendo al pasado con un toque de tambor                                                                                                                Con buenos recuerdos comenzó la sanación                                                                                                                     Un día de arte, calma, desapego,                                                                                                                                       

Un día en este camino observando, pensando, creyendo.                                 Un día de luz, un día sombras, solo un día para crear nuevas obras…      Baile, sonido, un fuego abrazador, 🔥, calientan la tierra…fuerza energía…      toda esa tierra llena de sabiduría.                                                                      Aquí el viento refresca y silba; un salto entrega esa energía.                               Un abrazo para todos con toda alegría.” -Manuel

Returning to the past with a drumbeat                                                                  Healing began with fond memories.                                                                        A day of art, calm, detachment,                                                                                A day on this path observing, thinking, believing.                                                A day of light, a day of shadows, just a day to create new works…                  Dance, sound, a blazing fire, 🔥, warms the earth…strength, energy…          all the earth is full of wisdom.                                                                                    Here, the wind refreshes and whistles; a leap delivers that energy.                                                                             A joyful hug for everyone. -Manuel

“On Tuesday, I wanted to write to you to tell you that we finally got water in our house after three months 🎉 but… The power went out across the entire country 🤦🏻‍♀️ We were without power for 36 hours

with all that that entails in terms of heat, spoiled food (which is already quite expensive), and more difficulties cooking. In addition, we had to look after our young children. Perhaps the most difficult part! The good news is that we just had two and a half hours in an “ideal world” with power and water. It doesn’t matter that it was so fleeting, because I got a little color 😉”-Giovanna

“Thanks to you, I am a better teacher, a better psychologist, and a better human being”—Alicia

A poem, a WhatsApp text, and a thank-you note; all expressive responses to the transformative power of playing with the arts in community. Last month, we celebrated the graduation of our 2nd and 3rd cohorts from the Cuban Expressive Arts in Transition program. We are pleased that over 30 group facilitators are now certified to lead EXIT group. Joining other global EXIT facilitators in Norway, India, and Germany, our Cuban colleagues are providing creative psychosocial and spiritual support for children, youth, and adults in various contexts. From school-aged to university students to senior adults, from caregiving mothers with special needs kids to socially marginalized young adults, these groups bond through imaginative play, stress-sensitive movement, and intentional social interaction.

Centered in the arts and forward-focused on health, the EXIT experience is generative, salutogenic, and embodied. This means that it is life-giving, health-oriented, and body-based. It does not mean that we deny or ignore death, disease, or spirit. Learning to notice, listen to, name, express, and learn from what is happening within, around, between, and beyond us helps us return to God, ourselves, and each other.  Recognizing the fragmenting impact of trauma, the groups work and play together to create, repair, and reconnect the physical, emotional, spiritual, and relational bonds that make us whole humans in the midst of difficulty, distress, and uncertainty. Together, we look for signs of beauty, life, and love to help us navigate the ongoing obstacles we inevitably face in life. We were awestruck knowing that M’s husband was dying in the hospital as she presented her learnings from leading an EXIT group at a community outreach center. Her tenacity to follow through on her commitment to the group and her own learning, deeply moved all of us in the room. The glimmer of hope, the surprise of color, texture, or sound that appear previously unnoticed, the hand of a friend to steady us when we falter or invite us to dance, the tiny things that make us smile, or the big ones that take our breath away. They all add up to just a little more life, love, and meaning. I’d call that Good News, Shalom, Health.

These days, we especially need to look out for each other, to stand up against hate, and to protect the bonds of love and compassion. We were divinely designed to connect, to create, to build up and not to divide and destroy. Thanks for making it possible for me to learn what this looks like, sounds like, and feels like from my global friends. Thanks for partnering with me along the Way. Thanks for the prayers, your notes of encouragement, your generosity, your care, your friendship, curiosity, and commitment. Let me know where you are seeing glimmers, surprises, and signs of life in the middle of and despite the chaos. We need to see, hear, and feel together. As Deb Dana reminds me, “We are wired for connection. We wish for connection. We wait for connection.”

So, let’s connect,  Mylinda