Light Figure: Sue Cavanaugh
Sue Cavanaugh
My Light Figure this quarter is Susan Ann Cavanaugh, my paternal aunt. Sue was born on September 06, 1948, in McCutchenville, Ohio, and died of pancreatic cancer on March 19, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio, at the age of 73 (‘Susan A Cavanaugh,’ 2022). She was the middle child, with an older brother, Steve, and a younger brother, Scott (my father). Sue married when I was little, but due to her husband’s alcoholism, abuse, and severe dishonesty, she divorced. She never remarried and never had children. However, Sue and I had a close relationship; she was a mixture of many titles to me, including friend, aunt, and hero. I always looked up to my Aunt Sue. She was intelligent, funny, kind, and an amazing artist.
Sue saw a great deal happen in the world during her life. Paradigms alive during her childhood related to the Korean War, the arms race, the anti-communism movement of the 1950s, the fight against segregation in schools based on race, civil rights, and the space race (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, n.d.). Sue witnessed significant historical events, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the start of the environmental movement and ban on DDT, women’s rights and the Equal Pay Act, the March on Washington and “I Have a Dream” speech, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, and so much more (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, n.d.). In many ways, Sue was a woman’s rights pioneer as she got her B.A. and M.A. from The Ohio State University. She became a career woman when it was rare for a woman to do so. Sue retired from her 30-year career at The Ohio State University on June 30, 2000 (The Columbus Dispatch, 2022). It was then that Sue became an artist. Additionally, Sue loved Mexico, and her retirement was largely filled with travel to Mexico, learning to speak Spanish, and creating art related to topics and issues in the world that she cared about.
Sue had many qualities that I deeply admired. Chief among them were her ability to find humor amid otherwise stressful experiences, the power of storytelling, and the significance of taking action to support important causes through art. I remember her telling the story of the time she was robbed in Maicou, Columbia while traveling with a couple of girlfriends. Not only could she laugh about it after it was all over, but her retelling of the story was filled with wit, humor, and entertainment. I remember when we traveled together in Egypt and found ourselves in a situation of questionable safety. While that story fortunately ended without drama, the retelling of it included edge-of-your-seat suspense.
What I’ve learned from Sue’s humor and talent for storytelling through the Light Figure project is the healing power that humor and story provide. Sue took traumatic events and chose light over darkness, humor over despair, and told her stories through a narrative of empowerment, wit, and entertainment over tragedy. That allowed her to live from a place of greater joy and spread that joy to others.
Not only did Sue have a unique way of choosing light over darkness through humor and story, but she also did so through art. When Mitt Romney declared, “Corporations are people, my friend” (James, 2011, n.p.), Sue thought to use political humor and art to make a statement about Citizens United vs. the Federal Elections Commission. She created a book of cartoons, for which I had the honor of serving as an unofficial editor. In it, she communicated the absurdity of such a statement. She wrote, “If corporations are people, then let’s see them go to the opera, visit Roswell, NM, and hang glide. Add a yak, a merganser, a couple justices and a yodeler, and let the fun begin” (Cavanaugh, 2017, n.p.). When then-president Donald Trump said in 2020, referring to the death toll of the coronavirus pandemic, “It is what it is” (Shabad, 2020, n.p.), Sue took her outrage at such an insensitive statement and began creating an 11’x11’ large mural consisting of paper dolls with no mouths, since the dead are unable to speak, and transformed a “onetime symbol of childhood innocence into something more devastating, crafting more than 5,000 paper dolls to symbolize the number of Ohioans who have died from the coronavirus…” (Downing, 2020, n.p.), a number that continued to grow. Sue also used art to make statements about climate change and other topics of concern.
A significant takeaway I’ve learned through the Light Figure project and communication with the spiritual energy of my Aunt Sue is that my negativity bias is very much alive concerning current events, and I tend to lean more toward pessimism. I’ve learned that by following Sue’s example, I can instead channel my concerns through art and by shifting the narrative of how I tell my stories. I have noticed over the past decade a shift within myself in the way I tell my stories, which I narrate in a more positive light, and in this way, I can see some of my Aunt Sue in myself. Now, I hope to harness the power of art to express my concerns about the world and current events as she did, but in my unique way.
Sue led with an ethic of love throughout her life. She was careful in her expression, especially with family where opposing views were dramatic and tense, to cultivate conversation with as much thought and peaceful intention as possible. Of course, Sue was human, and no human is perfect (how boring that would be!), but even in the face of mistakes or wrongdoings, Sue had the integrity to make amends. Her example reminds me to do my best to lead with an ethic of love, admit my mistakes, make amends when possible, and practice forgiveness.
Additionally, my experiences with this Light Figure project have reminded me of the empowerment that comes from a connection with my spirit and that of others. Connection and authenticity with my Self and with my spirituality underscore that I am constantly surrounded by cosmic energy, inherently connected to that energy and that no matter the circumstances, I am never alone. Further, by establishing a deeper awareness and communication with my spirituality, my ethic of love deepens, and my state of awareness grows.
By sharing my Light Figure experiences externally, I felt moved by the support I received from others who never personally knew my Aunt Sue but carried her torch in the sacred space. Speaking about Sue, her light, and what she meant to me amongst friends in the sacred circle felt like a way of honoring her. I could sense her energy with me in the moment, moving me nearly to tears.
This experience has taught me a couple of things that I believe will positively impact my work with patients in the future. First, when the weight of a session, a story, or life becomes hard to bear, I can turn to a Light Figure for guidance and support. I can also use the power of art to externalize intense emotions or to release unwanted energies. My partnership with Sue’s energy over this quarter has underscored the importance of art therapy and that I am indeed on the right path. It has also highlighted the necessity of incorporating regular spiritual practice into my life. These lessons will help me grow as a human and art therapist.
Additionally, having personally experienced the power of connecting with a Light Figure, I can bring the practice into session for patients needing guidance, support, and positive connection. What is great about the process is that the Light Figure connection is such a personal choice. Patients can choose to work with whoever feels inspiring to them and whoever encompasses the qualities most needed for them at that moment. I believe that has tremendous healing potential for anyone who engages in the process. Further, Light Figures can change over time as needs change, so patients can continue the process on their own after therapy is finished for additional support throughout life if they so choose.
I’ve learned much over this quarter that I plan to carry throughout my journey. What I love about these learnings is that they make me a more grounded, aware, well-rounded human, and they are also learnings that I can share, where appropriate, with future patients. Here are my top five takeaways:
1. Love is an action, a way of living, and a way of being. Modeling love as a verb can cultivate more significant healing, deeper than our current domination paradigm generally allows. Living from a love ethic teaches a greater connection with spirit through self-love. I believe that will make me a more loving and compassionate therapist, friend, wife, daughter, cat mom––human.
2. The Drama Triangle is a dominant societal structure, but it doesn’t have to dictate how a person lives. I can provide psychoeducation about Victim Orientation versus Creator Orientation where appropriate with patients and approach therapy as a Challenger or Coach rather than a Rescuer.
3. Archetypes can serve as excellent guides and create a deeper awareness. I can continue to work with archetypes personally and bring them into sessions and art therapy. Additionally, when patients are troubled by current events or trajectories, I can bring in archetypal stories on a macrocosmic level to help them make sense of the state of the world or the situation.
4. Listening to and connecting with the body is powerful and necessary. I can continue to work with myself and future patients, listening to the body's messages, dreams, and relationship patterns to learn from them and listen for their sacred messages, teachings, and warnings. Further, I can bring psychoeducation into sessions about the importance of balancing Western medicine and energy work.
5. Spirituality can significantly increase a person's general well-being, resiliency, and ability to flourish. It can extend awareness, connection, belonging, and love. Spirituality means something different for everyone, which is integral to its beauty.
References
Cavanaugh, S. (2017). A corporation is a person like the emperor’s new clothes were real. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Downing, A. (2020). Paper dolls depict the human toll of COVID-19 in ‘it is what it is’. Columbus Monthly. https://www.columbusmonthly.com/story/entertainment/arts/2020/10/19/paper-dolls-depict-human-toll-of-covid-19-in-it-is-what-it-is/115162390/
James, F. (2011). Romney’s ‘corporations are people’ a gift to political foes. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2011/08/11/139551684/romneys-corporations-are-people-getting-lots-of-mileage
Shabad, R. (2020). ‘It is what it is’: Trump in interview on COVID-19 death toll in U.S. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/it-what-it-trump-interview-covid-19-death-toll-u-n1235734
‘Susan A Cavanaugh’. (2022). Certified copy of death certificate for Susan A Cavanaugh, 19, March 2022 (State File No. 2022035410). Franklin County Registrar, Ohio.
The Columbus Dispatch. (2022). Obituaries, Susan Cavanaugh. https://www.dispatch.com/obituaries/b0059190/
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. (n.d.). History resources, Timeline: 1945 to the present. https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/online-exhibitions/timeline-1945-present
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