When we speak about resilience, we often think of it as something we must learn, cultivate, or strengthen. Yet while facilitating art therapy sessions with older adults, I am often reminded of something humbling: many of them are already living embodiments of resilience. Having navigated decades of change, loss, adaptation, and growth, they remind me that resilience is not always something we build. Sometimes it is something we have been practicing quietly for a lifetime.

Life has been full lately—children, work, care, travel, and the many emotions that come with them. During a recent family trip, I found myself drawn to a pottery studio and unexpectedly rediscovered something I had been missing: the quiet rhythm of creating with my hands. This reflection explores how pottery, like many creative practices, can become a gentle anchor in busy seasons, helping us slow down, reconnect, and find our way back to ourselves.

Art therapy is more than crafts — it is a clinically grounded mental health profession. We study psychology, human development, and psychotherapy to hold safe, transformative spaces where art becomes a bridge to healing. Research shows it reduces depression and anxiety, improves coping, and supports quality of life. Fellow art therapists — when was the last time you made art to explore your own inner world?

In art therapy, I often notice how we long for others to feel what we feel — as if sameness ensures safety. Yet true connection depends on difference. Intersubjectivity reminds us that two minds can meet and still remain distinct. Through art, we practise this balance — seeing, attuning, and staying present without merging, allowing both self and other to exist fully, side by side.