Keep Calm & Color

The world has dramatically shifted and what we perceived as normal will probably no longer be. Yet there’s an eerie sense of calm within me. Not in the frightening, terrifying sense of the word but otherworldly, supernatural. I know that eerie calm is the peace that transcends all human understanding as Paul wrote to the Philippians. 

I wrote those words in my journal to reflect and to remember how I felt during this global pandemic. Every time I write that - global pandemic - trips me up. I’m literally a character in a dystopian narrative and the kicker is, I’m classified as an essential worker. Can’t say I saw this coming BUT GOD! He did lol which gives me peace. I work as a dance/movement psychotherapist at an inpatient mental health facility. I’m one of many global citizens who still leave their house daily to commute to work. I’m grateful that I still have a job but this virus has impacted my work. Shutdowns across the nation and CDC guidelines have drastically slowed down our intake of patients. Less patients means more time to engage in research and help others out at work. It also has given me more reflection time and what it means to be productive. 

I’ve seen articles, blog posts and tweets that promote the idea of productivity.

“ Learn a new skill, get creative with streams of income, monetize XYZ.”

All statements that implicitly and explicitly tie in productivity to money and the act of doing to one’s worth as an individual. I’ve also seen articles, blog posts and tweets that aim to assuage anxieties tied to productivity. Reminding others it’s okay to just be, it’s okay to not be okay and just get through this difficult time.
This post is a reminder and encouragement piece that taking care of yourself is productive. To produce is to create, to process and to grow. If you’ve been baking because you’re bored and realize you have a ton of flour in your cupboard, you're being productive. Sleeping until 10 AM when normally you run on four hours of sleep, you’re being productive. 

It’s a theme that permeated my group and individual sessions with my patients in the past month. Unlearning that “doing makes me worthy” and learning who they are is value enough. I also learned from my patients these past few weeks. One group session, I provided four different coloring pages as a therapeutic art activity. Since then, my patients requested that pages were always at hand. They identified that it helped to ground them in the present to engage in processing difficult, deep rooted issues. The grounding enabled control within themselves and produced a calming effect during sessions. 

The gravity of the state of things and the newfound time on my hands could have led to an overwhelming feeling of anxiety. The thought of not having “enough” patients to “do” work with which must mean I’m not being productive therefore what value do I have? Then God placed in my spirit - “you can color, just like your past patients.” It may seem trivial to some but to me, it’s been quite helpful this past week. Seeing a blank page come alive with color has been soothing to my soul. It gives me a sense of control as I determine where the color is placed on the page.

Coloring provides a feeling of community as I add to an image created by someone else and knowing that a person I may never meet, is also contributing their creative decisions to the same image. Try it out for yourself!

I find the pages through Pinterest, pin them to my Coloring board and print them out. If you don’t have access to a printer, ordering a coloring book is also an option. There are tons of options on Amazon. You also have the option of framing your work after to add to your home. Affordable home decor for the win :) 

Though pieces of the world have shifted and the pressure to be productive weighs heavy; know that you can be calm in the midst of this. Creating, processing and growing in the ways that you can identify means you’re being productive. For me, it’s coloring but for you it could be cooking, meditating or napping. Acknowledge what contributes to feeling calm and become aware of it as you breathe throughout the day.

Enjoy it as well!

Let me know about the things that are getting you through this time! If you feel stuck, unsure and just bogged down, it’s okay to share that too. If you’d like prayer about feeling calm and being productive, please let me know. I may not know you personally but I know God and He definitely knows you =)