Tag Archives for Zendoodle

Gratitude and Creativity: Labyrinth

I did something yesterday that made me smile and made me proud of myself. I drew a labyrinth. So what you may be thinking. And maybe it does deserve a “so what”, but it’s what I learned from it that’s important.

I think it was two or three days ago that I stumbled upon a document with instructions for how to draw a labyrinth. I was happy to find it because some time before that I found a Zentangle challenge that required drawing a labyrinth and I had no clue about how to do it. So I gave up on the challenge. Then I found the instructions.

How to Draw a Labyrinth

How to Draw a Labyrinth

The instructions looked straightforward so I decided to follow them. About ten minutes later, when I hadn’t successfully drawn a labyrinth, I was extremely frustrated and ready to quit. But being naturally stubborn I kept trying. I lost track of how much time it took me to finish drawing the lines that finally resembled the tidy example on the instruction page. However, I wasn’t satisfied with mine so I put it aside instead of completing the challenge, which is to fill the labyrinth with Zentangle patterns.

Yesterday after writing in my gratitude/art journal I went back to the page of my imperfect labyrinth to fill it in with Zentangle patterns. The first thing to do was set the pencil sketch in ink with my black Sharpie pen. I looked at my wobbly-lined labyrinth and decided that I needed to straighten the lines so I grabbed my ruler and found circular items (a small juice glass, a teacup, and a small bowl) that I could trace to draw the rounded edges. The center starting points I had drawn were skewed so I used my ruler as a guide and drew nice, neat, straight lines along its edge. But then, even with the pencil sketch on the page, I felt the same confusion I had a few days before when I tried to connect the curved lines to create the labyrinth’s path. My mind couldn’t – or wouldn’t – visualize the right direction(s) to draw. Thanks a lot brain fog.

I stopped. I took a few deep breaths. Then I really looked at the page and the lines. I finally was able to see where to make the connections to draw the lines. I didn’t need the ruler. I didn’t need to trace anything. I drew the labyrinth within minutes. The best part about it was that it wasn’t perfect. For a few moments I was able to let go of my need to make something perfect. I was smiling. Then I was laughing. I understood the point of the exercise.

Gratitude & Creativity - Labyrinth

Gratitude & Creativity – Labyrinth

It was about letting go and freeing my mind of anything but drawing those lines. I was able to let go for a brief time and it felt good. I didn’t move forward with filling in the Zentangle patterns. I didn’t feel the need to and I just wanted to hold on to sensations that I so rarely feel since my illness arrived: contentment, satisfaction, pride, and pure joy.

 

U2 – Beautiful Day

Gratitude and Creativity: My Heart

I haven’t had an easy life and my illness isn’t making things any easier.

But regardless of the terrible things that have visited my life – even now when I am in pain – my heart always rises above and holds on to goodness. My heart can share and receive love. My heart holds hope and happiness. In fact, my heart continuously grows love and happiness that I can share with others.

I know that love exists in the world for me. It is unconditional, and it makes me feel special and worthy. Because I know I am loved I feel grounded and connected. Knowing this love for me is in the world makes me feel more like a part of the world and that I belong in it. Being loved makes me feel hopeful about life.

For these things I am truly grateful because my heart is always full.

 

Eurythmics – There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)

Gratitude and Creativity

Before my illness arrived I had some creative pursuits that I tried to commit time to daily. I wrote poetry. I walked around with a point-and-shoot camera and/or my iPhone all the time to make certain I never missed capturing a beautiful moment – flowers, sunsets, the movements of the city – then I used the images I captured to create graphic art. I painted – not very well – but my creations pleased me and the few friends who saw beauty in them.

Now I struggle to do any of those things. I am unable to do any of them with the same frequency, or at all. The constant weight of pain medications on my brain has reduced writing creatively to a slow trickle, which means I haven’t written many poems recently. Because of the pain I can’t go for walks when I want to take pictures of the active world and changing seasons outside my apartment. I have been trying to replace these creative things with activities I can do within the walls of my apartment without too much cerebral or physical effort.

Recently, while clicking through boards on Pinterest I found a creative project – art journaling. It does not require much effort and I decided to add my own twist. I’m combining creativity with gratitude. Each day I write about something for which I am grateful. Then – if I’m alert enough or not feeling too much pain – I sketch shapes or practice Zentangle doodles. I use coloured pencils and markers to draw and fill in the shapes I sketch, or I can paint the pages with water-colour paints. I’ve even written a few poems.

I have found a way to re-ignite my creativity while focusing on positive things. And, I am putting all of these things in one place where I can flip through the pages any time I need remind myself of about the good things that are in my life.