Infinite Possibilities

I love how this photo makes me think about the infinite possibilities we have as humans.

Sometimes our options feel limited. Like – I only have this option and if I don’t do this one thing I will be stuck forever!!!

But that’s nonsense.

The Manifesto of Surrealism (1924) spoke about art as a total liberation of the mind. Destroying the constraints of logic, reason, and societal morality. Surrealism connects us to our dream states. Reminds us that if we can imagine it, it might be a reality on some dimension. It tells us that fish can fly, time can melt into the ground, and we can walk around the world with a dog for a face. At its core, surrealism is about breaking free from the narrow cages of reason, logic, and social conditioning and tapping into the unconscious – dreams, intuition, symbols, and the irrational.

Surrealism developed in the aftermath of World War I, when people were disillusioned with the brutality of modern life and the failure of rational systems to prevent devastation. Artists and thinkers were searching for something beyond logic — a way to re-enchant the world, to make space for mystery, absurdity, and the subconscious. It was both a rebellion against the cold rationalism of the industrial age and a medicine for the fractured psyche of a generation. Surrealism gave permission to imagine wildly, to collapse the boundaries between reality and dream, and to find beauty in what once seemed nonsensical.

That’s why I love this image of the road pointing up into the sky. It’s not just a trick of infrastructure; it’s surrealism in daily life. A road — normally a symbol of order, direction, and predictability — suddenly becomes vertical, absurd, dreamlike. The rules are suspended. We’re asked to imagine new possibilities. Instead of “stuck at the red light,” the invitation is: what if the path goes up? What if the rules of logic bend, and the impossible becomes visible for a moment?

This photo reminds me that forward is not the only way Forward! It’s a reminder that we can also go side to side, upside down, loop-de-loop, and upwards into the sky.

Why this matters for us now?

 In expressive arts therapy, we carry this same surrealist spirit. Art-making isn’t about getting it “right” or staying within neat lines of reason. It’s about breaking form, making space for the irrational, and letting the unconscious reveal itself through color, shape, movement, or sound. Just like surrealism, expressive arts therapy trusts that our dreams, symbols, and even our nonsense have meaning. When we create from that place, we can bypass the critical mind and step into discovery, healing, and play.

A red light might not mean stop but instead it’s saying – Look up!

Expressive Arts Activity

1. Start with your current road.

   
   

   On a blank page, draw a simple road that represents the path you feel you’re on right now. It doesn’t need to be detailed — just a line, a track, a direction.

2. Interrupt the obvious.

   
   

   Break the road. Bend it, tilt it sideways, make it spiral, or shoot it straight up into the sky. Imagine it breaking all the rules of logic.

3. Add the unexpected.

   
   

   Let dreamlike images appear — maybe your road turns into water, maybe it’s paved with stars, maybe it ends in a doorway or dissolves into color.

4. Notice your body.

   
   

   As you shift the road, pause and feel: what happens in your body? Do you feel relief, curiosity, resistance, excitement?

5. Reflect.

   
   

   Write a few words about what your surreal road might be telling you about your life right now. What new directions might be available if you stopped following only the “straight and narrow”?