Are you starting to think that maybe I’ve been home in isolation quarantine too long? Did that vague woo-woo side of me that’s usually lurking in a dark corner just take over my brain? The answer to both of these questions could be yes; however, neither accounts for my above-mentioned thoughts.

Here is what I mean: 

As I did my morning meditation, which today took the form of coloring a pre-printed, see-through mandala, I chose a color that called to me. It happened to be a pink Prismacolor pencil. It kinda looked like it had some orange in it, like a salmon-y pink. When I look to see the name of the color, it says, “PINK.” Just pink. Weird. I’m not usually drawn to pink. However, it felt like the exact right color to go in the spot I was about to color. 

As I start to color the flower shape, I ask myself, “How else do I hold myself back because I think I have to be consistent with my own self-imposed preferences?” Sometimes the thing I’m not usually drawn to is JUST the thing. Hmmmm… Interesting. 

Since I’m in the process of developing a class about drawing mandalas, I think about how the way in which I’m coloring this particular shape right now can inform something else about myself. I have my headphones on and I’m listening to sound healing music with the sounds of waves, gulls and Whip-poor-wills. I’m holding the pencil lightly and going back and forth lightly, in a way that’s both systematic and carefree. I don’t really focus on covering all of the space. I see little white spaces around in the inside edges that don’t have color on them. So I say to the design (you know, myself), “I wonder how I cut corners in other parts of my life?” And then another question immediately follows: “When do I obsess about getting every single spot and doing it exactly right in other parts of my life?” Hmmm…. 

When you slow down and get completely present with WHATEVER you’re doing, and afford yourself the opportunity to truly NOTICE what’s happening, you’ve given yourself the gift of just being. What question comes up for you?