Do you doodle?

I watched an interesting YouTube the other day which claimed people who fidget burn more energy and therefore tend to be thin. I immediately started a fidgeting campaign and I will let you know in a few months if it had any affect other than annoying people.

As my mind works this way, it occurred to me that doodling is a kind of fidget. It's something we do rather absent-mindedly. But did you know that doodling is good for you? In fact I suggest a daily devotion to doodling, done deliberately and determinedly.

There are various ideas on the value of doodling. It's spontaneous expression. It might sort of open the gates to new ideas. Because it's free-flowing, and uninhibited, it expands the mind. A great way to brainstorm ideas to solve problems because you can map out ideas and visually draw connections or relationships.

It also has the advantage of reducing stress. In a meeting or in a call, the activity of drawing something can help you find a calm place. I say this because I know that drawing or painting tends to bring me to a state of peace.

Apparently, doodling has a cool effect on the brain as well. The act of drawing something strengthens hand-eye coordination.  It can help develop spatial awareness, pattern recognition, memory encoding, and cognitive flexibility. Ah.

It's also a form of self-expression. It doesn't have to look like anything, or be anything, but the act of creating something visual without the need for it to be 'good' is a kind of self-exploration. Maybe it quietly reveals what you think or feel about something. 

You don't have to be an artist to doodle. It's something you can do easily at various times and in different situations, to keep your creativity alive and maybe even open the door to innovative ideas.

Like singing in the shower, doodling allows you to resonate with the present moment in your own unique way.  In my opinion, anything that opens the door to creativity is to be embraced. You may not have the time to take a watercolour class, or write in a journal, or compose a song, or make a v-log. But you can surely find time to doodle.

In time perhaps, at the local internet cafe, there will be people fidgeting as they drink their coffee and doodle on their napkins. Who knows where that exploration of simple-things-that-make-a-difference might lead.

How did I get here?

Sunday morning, 5am, I am up, I am writing, I am designing, I am fiddling with artwork. I am both tired because I have only slept four or five hours, and vibrating because I am doing something I love that I hope might be meaningful to others. 

This year is the year I move from thinking to action.

That statement reminds me of advice I read once that said, when you are writing a novel, do not tell other people your ideas. Do not talk about what you plan to write. Talking about it will lessen the impetus to actually put down the words. Stay silent, and write the thing.

For a long time I have contemplated putting my experiences into a book of some kind. I wrote outlines, began chapters - for some reason it just didn't resonate. Maybe I wasn't ready. Or maybe I had to be inspired.

This year, I found inspiration in a format that I really like. A form that mixes image and text, prose and picture.

That's really cool, and you will see the results in the right-hand column of this blog. Check them out and please let me know what you think.

When I 'arrive' somewhere, I look back and wonder, 'how the heck did I get here' and that's exactly how I feel now.

In writing these books I am reminded of my past life, the many people who have wandered in and out of it - some malevolent and cruel, many more who were kind, accepting, encouraging and trusting.

I am reminded I am someone who used to stammer, shake with terror, and run away from people.

I am reminded I found away out of that place with the help of incredible mentors and a passion for music that I still have today.

I am reminded I am responsible to 'pay it forward' as best I can, for those who helped me in singing, composing, and life gave their knowledge to me without constraint, in a spirit of compassion, humility and support.

If anyone is still reading this blog (and I have fallen off the blog bandwagon so I expect it's very few), I would like to say thank you for checking in, and promise I will be more active here.