So, I did the above exercise and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.
As I meditated in mountain pose, I found myself drawn to the trees swaying back and forth just outside my windows, and quite appropriately, the image that came into my head to draw was a tree. There just isn’t anything better than a tree in springtime. Especially a big, old, tree- the kind that has been there forever, but still has new life every spring. It is the kind of tree that kids dream of-easy to climb, and even better, this one has a swing. I’m a total sucker for trees with swings. I love to swing, and I’ll admit to gleefully swinging on playgrounds when no one is looking.
Trees are just fun. You can climb them, you can get shade from them, and there can be whole worlds in trees. Birds nest there and maybe countless generations of birds have nested, been fed, learned to fly, and then returned to that same tree. There could be hundreds of birds there or just one or two. You never know. The big green leaves always point to new life every spring, shade every summer, and turn the most beautiful red and gold every fall. Even in winter, the tree is there. Happily standing through the frost and occasionally, through snow. But the coolest part is the many seasons and many lives that are touched by that one perfect climbing tree, with a swing.
Looking at my picture, from all the angles, I see the tree that I tried to draw. It isn’t the best drawing, but it is a tree-just the way I imagine it should be, though my drawing is far from perfect. The good thing about this exercise is that the drawing isn’t meant to be perfect. It is meant to be fun. And it is. Drawing, coloring, writing and creating are fun and revitalizing. And I think I’ll do more of it!