Mindfulness

33

Life has been stressful this past year, so towards the latter part of it I made an effort to find someways to create some mental space that wasn’t spent ruminating on the things that frustrate me or make me unhappy. But it’s difficult. It’s hard to clear one’s mind.

I remember when I used to practice karate. If I didn’t clear my mind back then I paid for it by getting clocked. When someone is actively trying to punch and or kick you, you learn to focus on one thing….not getting punched or kicked. I broke a bone or two in a foot once or twice.

But I don’t practice karate anymore.

I started running a year into COVID because work was making me insane. I remember talking to a conflict professional and she was happy to hear I was running. She asked me if I felt better after running. I told her “No, not really. I just come back hot, sweaty, and often angrier because I think too much”.

So that didn’t work.

But I did lose well over 30lbs rage running. So there’s that upside.

The camera usually works. But I lost my mojo with it this summer because I was so unhappy with life.

But then I picked up a paintbrush. A pencil and pen too. And I have found that the exercise of drawing and/or painting seem to make other things melt away. I can’t focus on the issues I am challenged by while I am doing these things.

That was an amazing thing to discover.

I’m not particularly good, but I am happy with this one. It’s not too shabby for the third ink drawing in my book.

Now I just need to make my self make the time to do a bit of this from time to time.