Behind the Art with Melissa

Happy Tuesday!

Do you FEEL me? 

Do you truly understand what I am going through? How I feel? And if you understand, is your empathy genuine?

These are questions I mull over in life. No matter what I am feeling, I wonder if others truly empathize with what I'm going through. Or are they only concerned with themselves?

And if they are, maybe those relationships just aren't worth my time. 

Because, not only do I want to practice empathy, I want others to show that same compassion towards me.

Along those lines, I, at times, wonder if I'm hard to read. Do I put up a wall without knowing it? Or maybe my emotion is so obvious, like a good rain downpour, that people try to avoid me. 

My mind could go on and on with all kinds of thoughts. I could imagine scenarios of what others think about me. When I'm happy or sad. It doesn't really matter.

Maybe you are like me and just want people to give you a hug  in times of sorrow or an amazing high five when things are going well. 

Empathy intrigues me sometimes and I love letting it out on this layout. I created a grid design, of sorts, to symbolize a puzzle. Putting together the pieces of life. 

Do you feel like others get you? Grab one of our kits and journal about it! We've done the ground work and now you can see just how therapeutic it can be.

Behind the Art with Angi Barrs

Hello everyone! I am so excited to begin my journey here at Scrapbooking From The Inside Out.

I have one bit of advice if you are new to this type of scrapping - "Breathe and enjoy the journey!"

Each SFTIO kit has an emotion behind it. January's emotion is - Empathy.

I created four layouts this month based around this theme. I chose to show this one first to give you a grasp at how you can begin making pages that follow your journey through 2014.

To make a page of your own is a sweet process. First, take a hold of the emotion "empathy" and let it sink in for a moment. After that, grab a thesaurus and look up the word.

I found several synonyms that really hit home for me:

- compassion
- insight
- comprehension
- rapport

One of these words really stood out for me. It was the word "insight". To really feel empathy for another person I need to gain insight into what they are really feeling.

Sometimes I get so busy with doing things - running errands, returning a telephone call, grading papers, answering emails...

I get so focused on tasks that I find myself getting sidetracked from listening to family and friends who want to talk or vent about things that are bothering them.

Once you get your page together add a bit of journaling. Keep the emotion in mind as you write. And be sure to just write from the heart.

As the month goes on I hope to share more tips with you. Stay tuned!

Behind the Art with Melissa

Hi everyone,

Is empathy something you struggle with?

I certainly do. I want to say I don't. I would love to say that I immediately think of others. I want to be someone who thinks of others immediately.

But I don't.

However, it is something I want to be better at.

Somehow, recording these thoughts on this layout helps. There is something interesting that happens when thoughts in my head become recorded on paper. I chose the photo because of the thoughtful gaze. It reminds me of being deep in thought and I see hope in my face. A positive look. Which is one that I hope to exude when I think about showing empathy to others.

Butterflies symbolize so much! Hope. Rebirth. Growth. And I love that they can symbolize Empathy. Gentleness. Thoughtfulness. So I used several from the kit on my layout. I also used the gold embellishment to symbolize reflection. I know when one speaks about empathy, we are to look at others and think about others. But, I also like the thought of taking a look at myself and giving myself reminders. 

As always, after finishing one of these layouts, I feel a sense of relief. And I hope that by sharing this with you, you can just get another small glimpse at how freeing and healing it can be to record your thoughts with one of our kits.