A year ago I was seriously drowning into the deepest depression of my life, and my mind wouldn't just stop thinking about it..!! I was becoming physically ill and everything seemed meaningless to me. So one day I just forced my mind to do something without any expectation and sketching was the choice, as I used to enjoy doing it for free in my childhood..hahaha! But this time I was holding the pencil after a decade-long gap ! when I was around 7 or 8 years of age, I used to draw conceptual sci-fi stuff. I will bring back those concepts alive in another post but now I wanna tell you how drawing & sketching helped me to deal with my stress and frustration.
This happened like a year ago. One fine morning I got my tools and a drawing book and without even giving a second thought I started drawing. After a while, I realized a certain calmness within me and my mind took up the challenge to focus all its attention to it. I was just drawing without any break and in a few hours it was all done. I was just amazed to see my sketch complete without even wasting a single page ! There was a sense of satisfaction and the art itself became an appreciation for my effort and the level of my stress decreased ( during that time). So later on, I thought to myself, what happened during those moments that got rid of my stressful state !! I realized that while I was sketching, my mind had to detach itself from the memories to focus on the present moment, which was the moment of the sketching. The simple act of detachment from disturbing memory created a blissful state within me automatically and I was feeling happy. It also helped me to realize why humans created rituals !! It's like a tool to deal with the racing mind BUT you can't borrow these tools from another person. After this experience, I started drawing and sketching for quite some time and it gave me joy and happiness. It works like a tonic !!!
So I hope those who are drowning in the stressful state might give it a try even if you have never drawn a single image. You need to consider it as an expression of the soul. The spirit desires an act of participation, not just theorizing things in the mind. It doesn't need to be perfect. YOU JUST DO IT…..and it will heal by itself.
If it also worked for you then let me know in the comment. I would be happy to hear your story….Ommmm Shanti
