The Weeds

I started this doodle by asking myself, “What do I need to see today?”

Over the course of the next 10 minutes I thought about many things as I followed my markers.

I have been feeling “in the weeds” (in a good way) for a little bit now.  I have a loud voice that responds to this kind of stress by saying, “You just have to get through this.”

It sounds encouraging at first and totally logical.  I mean, I have been in the weeds before and gotten out of it.  We all have.  It is temporary.

But, as the colors emerged, I reflected on the possibility that I might be missing the point of the weeds.

My weeds right now are pretty colorful! They are beautiful.  (I’m not even sure they should be called weeds when I think about it. Who called them weeds?)

They are thriving, growing, blooming, plants bursting with life.

If I “just got through it” I would certainly be missing the spectacular experience of these so-called weeds.

And then another thought popped up. “Should I maybe learn something while I am here?”  

I mean, I am going to be in the weeds again in the future. In fact, they are so beautiful that I might even want some more weeds!  

Do I just want to be in the same pattern of stress?

Nope.  

So, what would help me to be in the weeds with more presence and joy?  How do I embrace thicker and fuller weeds with more ease and flow?

As I began drawing a “North star” through the center of my weeds, I knew I had stumbled into some wisdom with these guiding questions.  The whole idea of being in the weeds changed for me in those 10 minutes…

That’s a little window into a  short doodling session.  That’s why I am hooked on doodling and why I love to do it with others as well.

If you want to experience some doodling wisdom, you can join us on May 18, 3:30 - 4:30 eastern time.  More information here.

What are your weeds trying to tell you?