When the Pause Begins to Speak

Can I feel the difference between a pause that brings clarity and a pause that avoids something?Where in the body does that difference live?That question has followed me into the studio in recent days.

When I work with Bodymapping and allow the painting to rest for a while, I notice that the pause itself begins to speak to me. It is as if something in the body steps forward precisely when I am not doing anything at all.

Sometimes the pause is soft. It feels like a deep breath finally settling. The shoulders drop. The body opens slightly. I can see the image more clearly, almost as if the painting tells me what wants to come next. Then the pause is full of clarity.

And sometimes the pause is something entirely different. It tightens. A small knot in the stomach. A weight across the chest. I notice that I am sitting still because I am actually avoiding something. A layer that wants to emerge, but that I am not quite ready to meet yet.

That is where the difference lives. Not in the mind, but in the body.

So when I sit in front of the painting now, I try to sense into it: is this a pause that creates space and direction? Or is it a pause that holds me back? Both are needed at times. But it is meaningful to know which one is speaking to me. And in some way, the painting is always honest about it. It waits. It holds. It shows when it is time to move on.

Can I feel the difference? Yes. When I listen inward.And that listening is as much art as the painting itself.

Marita