I can remember a very stressful time in my life about 9 years ago. I was living in Boston and at the time was working 60 plus hours a week with a lot of challenges and a nasty commute. My brother, back in Texas, was having open-heart surgery. There was a 26 year-old intern sitting in the office next to me. I was sharing the difficulty I was having at not being able to be with my brother during his emergency surgery. I didn't really tell her about any other stressors, but I guess my demeanor let her know more was up than I was letting on.
She looked at me without blinking and said, "I think you need to color."
Coloring. What a concept. I haven't colored since I was, maybe, ten years old. I used to love coloring. The outlined pictures lured me to give them life with my crayons and colored pencils. I don't think you could break my concentration when I was engaged in a good coloring.
I do remember one incident that was a defining moment for me, at least for the few days that followed. I didn't have to get professional help for it or anything, but I do remember the emotion that sprung from the incident.
I must have been around four or five years old at the most because of where we were living at the time. The picture choice of the moment was a lone tulip. I had managed to color the stem and leaves with such precision that no green was outside any part of a black line. Success! Now all I had to do was the same for the flower.
Perusing the color palette I chose a precise color of red that tickled my fancy. One petal colored. Two petals colored. A partial but third petal colored. I was swelling inside watching the tulip come to life.
"Denise," Mom came in from the next room asking me a question. My multi-tasking-time-management personality kicked in (yes, I was that way at pre-school age). I looked up to answer Mom but kept coloring. I remember my hand continuing to color what I thought was the same area, but when I looked back down, horrors! I could not believe my eyes. I had colored out of the lines.
I cannot tell you the depth of disappointment in myself for having chosen to continue coloring and not watch what I was doing. Thank goodness this experience did not stop me from coloring. I eventually turned the page and started all over.
I know a man who colored even as an adult to relieve tension after a long day's work. He even continued building lego gadgets as a stress reducer. A lot can be said for having much needed down time in this frenetic world. I watch news and world events and sometimes you can cut the tension with a knife. Sometimes it doesn't matter who is at fault, everyone seems like they need a time out. I don't say this to demean anyone's difficulty, but sometimes I think they just need to color.
Do something childlike today and watch the tension go away!
