How can beauty help process pain?

Facilitator reads for framing:

How can a symbol of beauty also become a symbol of pain? And how in the pain can we also see beauty? How can the value of creativity help us process these complex emotions? We will use the symbol of Israel’s national flower – the kalanit – and its use by Israeli artists after the October 7th attacks by Hamas as our primary source for exploration.

The kalanit (anemone), is the national flower of Israel. It dots the landscape a bright, beautiful red every spring. In Southern Israel each year when the flowers start to bloom (usually late January) a month-long festival takes place called Darom Adom-The Red South, which includes hikes, tours, bike marathons, poetry readings, concerts, art exhibits, food festivals and communal celebrations, all somehow connected to the beauty of the kalanit. Many of the communities that were attacked on October 7 are ones that host festival activities and guests.

Facilitator reads:

The value of creativity is one that individuals rely upon to see the world differently, in good moments and bad ones. Sometimes our creative forces flow naturally and at other times we need to dig in more deeply to bring them to the surface. Finding our creative outlets allows us to thrive, and also can be a way of coping when things are difficult.

Facilitator prompts the group to fill in the following:

• I feel most creative when…
• My creativity has helped me during challenging moments such as…
• When does being creative feel easy? When does it feel hard?

The Kalanit in Jewish poetry and song as creative expression:

Facilitator continues reading:

“Kalaniyot” is an Israeli song that became popular in the days leading up to the establishment of the state of Israel and remains a classic in Israel. The lyrics, by poet Natan Alterman (1910-1970), describe a little girl who dreams she is gathering anemones in a basket and brings them to her mother.

Read the following lines from the song:

Though generations come and go unending

Each age must have its kalanit and song,

And happy is the man, through storms’ descending,

Whose kalanit has bloomed for him, but once.

Facilitator reads:

As Jews all over the world grapple with the horrific attacks on Israel by Hamas, one subsection, Israeli artists, have used the kalanit as a symbol to express their pain.

• Look at the three different images below that were created by the artists Einat Tsarfati, Noa Moram and Noa Nizzani after the attacks.
• Choose one image and give it a title.
• Why did you give it that title?
• Next, choose another image and fill in the blanks below.

When I look at this work of art, I see_________ and_________.

The beauty of the red petals has become _________________.

There is pain in this image, especially in __________________.

But I also see beauty in the way _______________________.