Even after all this time, I doodle everyday. I doodle when I’m happy… when I’m sad… when I am in pain, when I’m numb… even when I don’t feel like doodling, I doodle! It has been one of those daily practices that I have been able to stick with no matter what. That is not true for the others things I have “tried”... meditation, exercise, eating healthy, etc. Now, don’t get me wrong,... those practices are great. I still do them because I think they are good for me. But the only thing I have been able to do consistently is doodling… no matter what. I began to wonder why that is.

I realized a while ago that I had connected value or worth with suffering or difficulty. If something was hard to do, then achieving it had more value (a.k.a. more recognition, more love, and sometimes literally more money). I believed that anything that was easy or “natural” had less or little value. People always thought I was smart but since it came “naturally”, there was rarely any reward or recognition for that. The expectations for performance were still there of course. Okay, then. That realization had put a lot of my behaviors over the years into perspective.

The Good News

Fortunately, I have come to my senses and realized that things that are “easy”, ARE valuable! Doodling is one of the easiest things to do in the world! EVERYONE can doodle! And… even better... creativity is as impactful as meditating, exercise and eating healthy! That’s right!

Doodling, painting, writing, just art in general, has allowed me to express the truth of who I am at any moment. The good, the bad, and the ugly. It can hold all of my feelings. I can throw anything at it and it can take it. It can hold it… over and over. The blank piece of paper or canvas is like my temple… beckoning me to enter… all of me...without any baggage or judgment… and be free. Always keeping it real. No wonder it’s been something I have been able to do everyday. It’s been an act of love I give myself.

Grateful For The Discovery

I am grateful for having “discovered” this. Through this practice I have been able to see the miraculousness of who I am. AND… all of you as well! It has given me perspective about the daily toils. I am reminded that all of us are creative beings… naturally… easily. Everytime I pick up a marker, or a paint brush I have an opportunity to create something that’s never been created before… EVER! How cool is that?! And, of course, that is true for all of you!

It’s amazing what a blank piece of paper can do for the soul!

Doodle On!

Karen

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