Healing Ourselves and the World with Art
Cathy Malchiodi is a visual artist, therapist and scholar who shares on her blog the story of Jimmy Miriktani who offers the inspirational idea : "Art is the Only Thing That’s Left in the World." The unfolding of Mr Miriktani's life is filled with tales of many upheavals, the bigger picture is heartening.
Mr Miriktani is an American citizen, born in California, and lived for much of his early life in Hiroshima, Japan. Upon returning to the states, just prior to the Pearl Harbour attack, Mr Miriktani was caught in the severe reactions to the bombings and was incarcerated for many years with fellow Japanese/Americans. His life's journey reveals the dream of being an artist through a path that was fought with homelessness and oftentimes misery.
In her inspirational article Ms Malchiohi unfolds this story further to reveal an awakening for Mr Miriktani and a deepening of our understanding of how the arts and creative expression are healing forces. "Gene Cohen, psychiatrist and director of George Washington University's Center on Aging, Health, and Humanities, has studied creativity and aging for more than three decades. His research on the benefits of creativity later in life is compelling, demonstrating that older adults who participate in the arts [singing, creative writing or poetry, painting, or jewelry making] reported better physical health and fewer doctor visits than those who were not engaged in the arts. The "artists" also helped to maintain independence and seemed to minimize risk factors that cause the need for long-term assisted care."
As an artist and coach who incorporates creativity practices in my work I celebrate this research and am encouraged to be part of community that is devoted to bringing forth the riches of cultural expression into the lives of all.
Mr Miriktani is an American citizen, born in California, and lived for much of his early life in Hiroshima, Japan. Upon returning to the states, just prior to the Pearl Harbour attack, Mr Miriktani was caught in the severe reactions to the bombings and was incarcerated for many years with fellow Japanese/Americans. His life's journey reveals the dream of being an artist through a path that was fought with homelessness and oftentimes misery.
In her inspirational article Ms Malchiohi unfolds this story further to reveal an awakening for Mr Miriktani and a deepening of our understanding of how the arts and creative expression are healing forces. "Gene Cohen, psychiatrist and director of George Washington University's Center on Aging, Health, and Humanities, has studied creativity and aging for more than three decades. His research on the benefits of creativity later in life is compelling, demonstrating that older adults who participate in the arts [singing, creative writing or poetry, painting, or jewelry making] reported better physical health and fewer doctor visits than those who were not engaged in the arts. The "artists" also helped to maintain independence and seemed to minimize risk factors that cause the need for long-term assisted care."
As an artist and coach who incorporates creativity practices in my work I celebrate this research and am encouraged to be part of community that is devoted to bringing forth the riches of cultural expression into the lives of all.
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