I’m not very good at meditation.
I know folks say that you can’t be “good” or “bad,” you just are what you are. But, here’s what happens:
I sit down to focus on noticing my thoughts and clearing my mind and I remember all 15 texts I haven’t replied to. I breathe. Then I start having all kinds of new ideas for projects I could create. I breathe. Then I worry the ideas will disappear and never come back. One time, about 5 minutes into sitting, I got up and went into the other room to start making designs for a new drawing and didn’t even notice I’d stopped meditating until 10 minutes later.
Clearly I need to keep practicing.
It’s also true that we all have our own ways of meditating. After the kids go down, if I pull out a box of markers and turn on some good music, suddenly hours go by and I am still sitting there coloring green next to blue and blue next to orange. I forget my to do list, my ambitions, my anger, my fears, my grief and just watch the colors transform the page.
These moments feel more precious than ever right now.
In case any of this resonates for you, I made a Spotify playlist of songs I enjoy listening to while I draw and color and wanted to share it with you here. I hope that those of you who participated in the 9 days of coloring for resilience have found ways to continue to incorporate creativity into your day. And if you missed out, or have friends who might enjoy them, you can still download the Coloring For Resilience coloring pages I created on my website homepage.
Here’s to finding the moments we need to rest and recover, however we can.
Stay well all.