Color Me Calm
Last week I sat in a meeting and listened to a group of adults talk about how much they hate the holidays. It made me a little angry. I believe we have choices about how we experience the world, and that staying in the moment allows us to enjoy life to the fullest.
I also understand that our culture puts a lot of pressure on people during the holiday season. We may be asked to spend time with family or friends we don’t really like that much. We may not have family to spend the holidays with.
We may feel the need to find just the right gift for someone we don’t know all that well, or someone who is hard to please. My siblings and I finally settled on giving our dad gifts of exotic food; we could never find a pair of slippers that fit his size 13 feet.
We may compare our contribution to the office potluck to those of others and feel less than a great cook. Or maybe there is no office potluck to contribute to. We’re surrounded by requests, from the bell ringers to the TV ads.
Well, I think it’s time to take a moment to calm down with a coloring book. According to this article, coloring generates quietness, creativity and stimulates our brains. I was an anti-coloring book mom, but I admit to having lovely memories of lying on my stomach on the floor coloring many a Disney princess as a kid.
I also loved paper dolls but they aren’t nearly as calming as coloring. All those little tabs. Yikes.
I looked at a few options for your coloring needs. From the blatantly zen Color Me Calm to the entertaining Bun B’s Rapper Coloring and Activity Book to the clearly cynical Unicorns Are Jerks. Lots of fun choices; some I wasn’t willing to highlight on this site! Ten Bizarre Coloring Books for Adults offers even more choices for your gift list.
Laughter is always good for releasing stress, lightening up and brightening your day. But Carl Jung, a very wise psychologist recommended coloring for releasing stress. He had his patients create mandalas, circular designs originating in India.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a piece on the CBS Morning Show that reminded me of your “Color Me Calm” post and how during this crazy back-to-school time, I need to remember to get out my coloring books and colored pencils and take in some down time. It would be so easy to do with my three kids…and we all definitely need a little “calming” from time to time. 🙂
I also had the thought…since one of the popular “ladies night out” things to do is canvas painting w/ wine, why can’t we start a “ladies night in” where you invite friends to come over and bring their favorite coloring book and beverage. Together, we could “color ourselves calm”!
Great idea! Let’s do it.