Coloring Outside the Lines

The crush of September is upon us.  Kids are going back to school.  The perceived freedoms of summer are gone.  We start to become more focused on work and responsibility.  I hear about this every day.  As I sit with people, I hear more stories of being overwhelmed and under rested. 

I spend quite a few hours every week talking about self-care with the people who come to see me.  I tell them that self-care looks different for different people that they need to find time to slow down and nourish themselves.  It is important to take care of the self first or you cannot bring your very best to anyone else. 

So today I was sitting at my desk working on notes and a draft of a book that I am writing.  I found myself struggling to concentrate and almost feeling resentful of the amazing opportunities I have.  It isn’t like I wanted to run off and do something else.  I just felt … nothing.  I wasn’t excited.  I wasn’t inspired.  I wasn’t feeling intellectually engaged.  I felt nothing.  I thought to myself, I am beginning to sound like the stories I hear during the week.  Time to take my own advice. 

So I did.  I stopped working.  I stopped looking at my phone and the messages that I had to return.  I closed my inbox and my manuscript.  I reached into my bag and took out colored pencils and drawing materials.  I started to color.  At first, I was trying to be precise.  Make sure it looked neat and the lines were obeyed!  The tips of my pencils were breaking and the colors looked hard.  Then, something happened.  I let my hand relax.  The colors blended and softened.  I didn’t worry about coloring outside of the lines.  I began to like my artwork.  My mind relaxed.  My chest felt a little less tight.