… It turned out there was no chair and no table, no stage, and of course no dividing line between the speakers and the participants. Instead, everyone sat in a circle, lied down on the floor, or drew on the glass, walked around in “slow motion”, ran really fast like a crab, or walked and drew at the same time comfortably following the guidance of the two facilitators from 1648kilomet.
This was also how our emotions operate: no right or wrong, no good or bad, as emotions all need to be acknowledged and respected. Emotions are diverse in their shades and forms, and deserved empathy from you yourself.
Through such activities, participants had the opportunity to acknowledge their emotions in the moment. Before befriending emotions, you need to stop what you are doing, take a deep, slow breath, and then steadily observe. Take the initiative to let yourself “stay” with your emotions to complete this process. At that moment, you will learn more about your body: how it will react when you feel angry, the differences you will experience when you’re happy, and what action to take to soothe your melancholy… With enough practice, you will know how to identify and respond to a feeling when it occurs, or even recognise the signs that announce its arrival and be ready for the response.
Nguyễn Minh Nam, one of the facilitators, emphasised that in the journey to take care of yourself and befriend your own emotions, the most important things are benevolence and an unjudgmental spirit for yourself. Whether that emotion is positive or negative, it always carries a certain meaning and conveys necessary information. It is difficult to do so, which is why you need to spend time for yourself to get familiar and adapt to it. Always remember the original purpose if you found yourself lost direction: you do this to love and take care of yourself, and it is worth it.
At the end of the workshop, participants had the chance to share their thoughts and feelings on the three-hour of “Befriend emotions”, as well as some of the things they would do to take care of themselves. Some did not have a lot of expectations when joining but then gained new, useful perspectives. Some have plans to practice breathing in the morning, and drawing with colours on the weekend. Some hoped that they can focus more on practice, breathing and their diet. Some also said that they learned how to connect with the space, allowing their bodies to move and express their emotions…
No matter how big or small what you gain after three hours of practice under the guidance of 1648kilomet, we hope that you will continue to nurture and spread it forward in the future.
Below are some of the images from this amazing and emotion-rich workshop, take a look with us!
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