Are we all walking around with anxiety but try to hide it? There are so many bad feelings we try to protect our children from. Never wishing anxiety on them, we try to make everything OK. It's OK if you capsize your boat in sailing class, it's OK to drop an advanced class, etc.
Going through a divorce is teaching me about anxiety. I was trying so hard not to show my stress to my kids, but my tough (fake) exterior is breaking down. Until now, I never thought of myself as an anxious person. You can't hide anxiety for long.
I brought four of my children to an gallery exhibit at Brickbottom artists' studios last month, only to see raw human emotions spelled out for me on playful canvases made by artist Pauline Lim. I wonder if my kids, seeing this painting, even understood what this emotion meant or could identify with it. Mostly I think they see the artwork as funny, cute.
I give Pauline credit for being so open about our not-so flattering-feelings, once again proving one of art's many functions: helping you feel less alone in your pain.
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