Leading the workshop “Inspiration Rocks!” to introduce A Window Between Worlds to the group at the domestic violence shelter where I work just made sense. Survivors in shelter have done rock painting for far longer than my tenure at the agency.

Those who joined the group were individuals who had been in shelter for a few months and were either on the cusp of meeting a goal or grappling with some setbacks.

I began the workshop with a question: “What would your perfect day look like?” With the rocks I collected from around the property and acrylic paint the children’s program seems to never run out of for inspiration, we had a good conversation about what our best days would look like. Some days were detailed down to the weather of the day, traffic and favorite bakeries.

As people spoke they also wrote notes on the paper tablecloth. For one survivor, she hoped her perfect day would be one where she could be authentically herself and strong in her sobriety and self assurance. She was set to move into her own apartment by the end of the week, and I could tell that having something to do with her hands and splitting the focus, helped her talk about her doubts and feel validated by the group when they told her how amazing it was that she had gone through the whole process of securing housing for herself and her son.

For another survivor, painting rocks and talking proved to be kindling to the fading hope she had around getting a job. After four job interviews, the lack of offers was poisoning her hope for the next interview. As she drew on the paper and meticulously painted a beautiful butterfly, she mentioned that the butterfly inspired her. And that it was helpful some rocks were small enough to paint little icons or smaller words on, to be carried around in a pocket or purse.

For a third person, collecting rocks was a hobby, so much so that she had a box of rocks and could scope out the best ones for the activity. It was an activity that she’d established as helpful for her sobriety and could focus on completely.