Marie WheelerJournal 52’s prompts this week were pretty easy for me to visualize. When I read ‘What Lies Beneath’ and ‘Emerge’, I immediately knew I was going to draw about what lies beneath, as despite my calm exterior, I am a roiling mess of anxiety.
Not that I’m not working on it or think for a second that I’m the only person struggling. I know that literally everyone around me struggles with anxiety. I do a lot in efforts to ease my anxiety, but the fact remains that I am consistently over-booked at work and home.
There is never enough time to do everything I want and to take time to recharge.
Anxiety is treatable.
This past week, I did do something to help myself and others in this anxiety process: I attended the first of two Breathe and Heal Conferences sponsored by a local committee. The goal: Learn breathing exercises to share with my staff and clients.
I plan to talk more about this experience as it progresses, but the main thing I took away from this training was the simple power of the breath to change our daily perception and our health.
Part of the certification process is to utilize the breathing practices over the course of the next month and document and I plan to practice and document daily.
I do love my spreadsheets.
The Art.
This piece was completed with my new tools, the Windsor & Newton Travel Watercolor Kit and my new Speedball Pen and Ink Kit.
I’m not going to say where I got them, as I just realized I could have saved *several* dollars by ordering on Amazon. This isn’t always the case and I really thought I was getting a good deal as I used by 40% off coupon. Apparently they jack up the price by 50% to allow for such great savings. Grrr.
I digress.
My entry for this week is kind of blatant in the expression of calm over a surface of discontent, but that is how I am feeling and the purpose of this art and blog is to express myself and my whole self without worry or judgement.
It is okay to let people know you are overwhelmed. It is okay to give yourself permission to be imperfect, to be vulnerable and to not meet your daily to-do lists. It is okay to just stop and breathe for a minute.
