Looking Onward and Upward

It’s August already…Spring and Summer went by quickly. Autumn is approaching and is typically the time of endings (gardening, summer sports, vacations, and the Fair); but I’d rather think of it as new beginnings. So many new classes start up in the Fall. Whether it is credit related or simply for enjoyment, the community offers so many options. In addition to my mental health and resiliency related coursework, I’ve also signed up for arts (pointillism, surrealism, and expressionism) and crafts (Fused Glass Studio & Combining Thrown and Handbuilt Pieces) type classes. Being located in Eden Prairie offers the benefit of both local arts classes plus nature-based classes at the University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum in nearby Chanhassen where there are a restaurant, art gallery, gorgeous gardens,  hardy woodlands, wetlands and spectacular prairies to hike through on their 12.5 miles of paths. I really enjoy stress free time here in addition to their lecture series.

The last class that I took there was Therapeutic Horticulture where we learned about biophilia (the instinctive connection between humans and nature) and different therapies for a variety of illnesses or disorders. That class on the psychological orientation towards nature was for credit. This time around I’ll be taking Make and Take Stone Sculptures and Autumn Botanical Arrangements as well as an August class in Fire in the Garden Grilling (Beyond the Barbequed Burger) and hopefully some “greenlist” classes which are spur of the moment type class offerings that occur within the day or week of being posted. These classes don’t even make it into the calendar because they are so short notice. I prefer them because less people show up. However, I do like getting lost in a crowd where others are the center of attention.

These classes are so inexpensive with membership plus they help one socialize in a structured atmosphere which I prefer because then I don’t necessarily have to speak when I don’t want to; instead, it is instructor driven with question and answers, usually by only a handful of the participants. I really enjoy that plus it benefits me with my schizophrenia in that I get to use fine motor skills, as well as the socialization factor and the fact that I have to sit still for a prolonged period of time. Staying still is a difficulty for me but I’m working towards a solution with these classes plus I hope these will decrease my overt/positive (delusions, hallucinations, and social disinhibition) symptoms even more so that I can be listed as in remission (six months symptom free w/ the aid of medications).

Author: Angela Ellen Grey

Angela Grey is an Indigenous novelist, poet, and painter whose work explores the intersections of memory, identity, and healing. She, formerly an architectural drafter, studied creative writing, as well as spirituality and healing, at the University of Minnesota, where she deepened her commitment to storytelling as both an art and a form of medicine. Alongside her writing, Angela finds balance in yoga and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which shape the reflective quality of her work. She lives in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with her husband, one spirited pup, and four cats. When she’s not writing, she enjoys camping, budget travel to places like Maine, Oregon, and the coastal Carolinas, and gathering with family around a BBQ grill. View all posts by Angela Ellen Grey