I’ve been practicing Zentangle for years now. A while ago, I told a friend of mine that I was going to Providence, Rhode Island, for three days to do a Zentangle Teacher Certification.
Her response? “Wow, that’s quite a luxury.”
It is a luxury in the sense that I have the resources—time, money, support at home—to spend my time doing exactly what I want, (although, I will say, this three days took months of planning) and for that I am very grateful.
But it is not a luxury in the sense of something frivolous or unnecessary. Practicing Zentangle has been a source of healing in my life. I’ve also shared my love of Zentangle with many people, children and adults, over the years and I wanted to get better at teaching it to others.
But even if I continued to Zentangle just for myself, it’s still worth doing. Zentangle feeds my soul and when I nourish my soul I am a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, and life coach.
When my husband gets up and goes running in the early morning, he’s feeding his soul. When I get up early to go to yoga, I’m feeding my soul. We take turns giving each other those early morning hours to do what is important to each of us because we know we will benefit from both.
What are the things you do that fill you up? Make a list. If you haven’t done any of them lately, get one of them (or more!) on your schedule and honor that appointment just as you would if you had scheduled a meeting with colleagues.
One way to “make” time for these nourishing activities is to get rid of the things you spend your time doing that don’t fill you up. Think of activities that you feel bad about after you do them—for me, that’s any game on my phone. I periodically hear about one that sounds fun, add it to my phone, and then realize it’s not really fun, it’s just addictive. So I delete it. If it’s there, I’ll play it.
Something that’s a necessity to me may look like a luxury—or a waste of time—to you. And vice versa. Let’s each do what’s necessary for our own well-being and agree not to judge each other’s activities based on our own preferences. Deal?
What’s necessary to you?
P.S. I’ll be offering a free beginner’s Zentangle class at Rodger’s Memorial Library in Hudson, NH, in August. For more info, click here.