TGIF Friday can sometimes be lonely on a dark snow covered road

I love Fridays, and actually, I get to experience

one again tomorrow. You see, I've been working

shift work for the first time in my life, going on

two years .......

One who works any 7 day of the week and any 

morning, afternoon or evening or a combination

of any of them all. There is nothing more

wholesome and rewarding as Friday.

A tradition we start in our teens, move into our

dating years, into our children's lives and all 

back again. Most important, in all of those 

memories are the friends we hold dear. 

Yes, I mean you. One who thinks to reach out

every single day. Perhaps for some that is their

brightness for their day. You bring that to

people, the world, and so much more. If you

don't. You should.

I drove along the lonely road

exhaust falling behind as hazy residue

The snow covering winter's total darkness

from light

The city behind with failing from sight

I had a talk with myself in my mind asking: 

are you living the life you designed?

Well, no, my honest voice spoke

Not out loud, for others to vote

It shows in your face when looking down

A slight crease, warding off forming a frown

The music in the background drowned out by the

whop whop whop of the wipers

You realize you've been gripping the wheel so

tightly as though fleeing vipers

Suddenly your grip loosens up ad your chin rises

Your eyes open wider in rejoicements to see

you've arrived at you journey's end without

hitting a tree

The radio's music tempo on the radio reacts

with an upbeat change -even if it is only

snow within eye's range.

You wanted to drive to dispell the worry and conquer the fear

To master the feelings that linger near

So take a drive in sleet and rain

Out of the city lights to clear your brain

Not realizing it as the symbol it was

Daily we face limitations clouded in fuzz

The gift that you strive forward to is 

a new appreciation of facing your fears

Like the miles on the snow ridden highway 

with music's melodic soothing

To hip hop lyrics, guitar strings beats it brings.

Startling us back to the light we should focus on

Appreciate life even on abandoned roads

Forget about work, life's worries, those fears

Instead, reflect upon nice acts of kindness

There is always someone not waiting, nor hoping

for a kind hand to reach out

That may be who you needed to remember as,

for and being about.

 

Your gift is wrapped, even with a bow,

Who it is waiting for, may never know

 

While the whole world may wonder

how you found the calmness you glow

It is for you, about you, the forgiving you,

the worries bursting with warm memories

How odd that it is. All day long, every day, we

see those we know, meet and care about 

Not ones we end up staking our lives, intentions

clouded by being part of a crew.

Forgetting to realize how important we are too.

Wanting to be close to that important crew

It is with caring and optimism that allows gratitude to renew

Written by Jeannette Marshall

Keep calm and color on

This blog was originally written and shared on my Business, Sales, Leadership, Social Media Blog optioneerJM which I had started in May 2010.  I branched out to Meanderings because there are many issues I want to write about that don't fall under business. 

What is the most powerful, impactful trend right now?   Coloring! What? .... isn't coloring something you did when you were a kid?  Well, perhaps you did.  Now you have permission to do it as an adult because it is great for you!
The next time you are planning an important corporate event, team meeting, or training session consider adding color to your tools of engagement.  You may realize many benefits:

• To ward off distractions
• As an approach to problem solving
• To improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages, all levels within the organization 
• Artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems
• Develop and improve interpersonal skills
• Manage behavior,
• Reduce stress,
• Increase self-esteem
• Build self-awareness
• Achieve insight

Coloring and art have been around for ages.     Today,  use it as a powerful stress buster.  Assembled are helpful meanings to get started:

 Mandelas

 Mandalas are sacred circles that have been long been used to facilitate meditation in the Indian and Tibetan religions.  

They are created and looked at to center the body and mind.  Mandelas are variations or symbols of circles often found in halos, prayer wheels, religions, architecture and nature.    Now, they are used as a healing tool and a form of meditation which suggest they can boost the immune system, reduce stress, combat depression, reduce pain, lower blood pressure and  stimulate the release of melatonin, a hormone believed to slow cell aging and promote sleep.

Tattooes:

The word "tattoo" was brought to Europe by explorer James Cook when he returned in 1771 from his first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand.   (In his narrative of the voyage, he referred to "tattaw". )

Popularity has steadily risen where artists, executives, and mainstream every day people swarm to "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios", or "tattoo parlors" to undergo their own personalized stamp of creativity.  Today, tattoo enthusiasts refer to tattoos as:

• ink

• skin art

• tattoo art

• tats

Coloring books:

Paint books and coloring books emerged in the United States as part of the "democratization of art" process.  The McLoughlin Brothers are credited as the inventors of the coloring book with The Little Folks' Painting Book.  
Another pioneer in the genre was Richard Outcault who authored  Buster's Paint Book in 1907.   It launched a trend to use coloring books to advertise a wide variety of products, including coffee and pianos.

 Until the 1930s, books were designed with the intent for them to be painted instead of colored.  Coloring books are widely used in schooling for young children because they tend to be more interested in coloring than other learning methods.  Pictures are also more memorable than simply words.

Educators conclude that all, regardless of background, students benefit from art as a means of enhancing their conceptual understanding of the tangible, developing their cognitive abilities, improving skills, finding a profession, as well as for spiritual edification.

Color therapy:

Color as a holistic therapy dates back thousands of years.  Color gains energy from light and why it is used as Color Therapy.  It can have a major healing impact on us as humans.
Color Therapy is a complementary therapy for which there is evidence dating back thousands of years to the ancient cultures of Egypt, China and India. Color is simply light of varying wavelengths, thus each color has its own particular wavelength and energy.  It can have a major healing impact on us as humans. 

Art Therapy:

Alternatively,  art therapy is a relatively young therapeutic discipline.  It began in the use of the arts in the moral treatment of psychiatric patients in the late 18th century.  It arose out of  a non-conformist religious tradition,  arising in English-speaking and European countries. The early art therapists who published accounts of their work acknowledged the influence of aesthetics, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, rehabilitation, early childhood education, and art education, to varying degrees, on their practices. 

 A British artist named Adrian Hill came up with the name  art therapy in 1942 while he was recovering from tuberculosis in a sanatorium.  Hill caught on to the therapeutic benefits of drawing and painting while convalescing.  He wrote that the value of art therapy lay in "completely engrossing the mind (as well as the fingers)…releasing the creative energy of the frequently inhibited patient", which enabled the patient to "build up a strong defense against his misfortunes". He suggested artistic work to his fellow patients. That began his art therapy work, which he authored a book "Art versus illness." in 1945.

Another key figure, artist Edward Adamson, became the "father of art therapy in Britain" after he was demobilised after World War II.  He helped Hill extend work in long stay mental hospitals.  Margaret Naumburg and Edith Kramer are credited for being art therapy pioneers in the United States.  

Best Sellers:

Currently, the top sellers on Amazon.com are the featured adult coloring books:

Our lives become busier with each passing day and as technology escalates so do our access to work, obligations and stress. Coloring allows adults a way to slow down, feel calm and use meditative coloring for relaxation.

Unleash your creative spirit with this sophisticated anti-stress colouring, doodling and drawing book. The flowing lines, sweeping swirls and highly-detailed patterns on every illustration have been created so that anyone and everyone can enjoy making something beautiful and calming. Increasing focus through creativity can benefit those who find it difficult to unwind or struggle to find their inner artist when faced with a blank page. There are no instructions, no rights or wrongs, and no need for expensive art supplies - readers can simply doodle and colour in any way they wish to create unique and exquisite pieces.

Art therapy provide healing and growth experiences, and stimulate creativity.  Creating art images is a safe and natural way of communicating feelings and experiences.  People are able to see themselves more clearly, gain different perspectives, and unblock feelings and issues that may otherwise be difficult to bring to the conscious.  We have an energy language in our body that informs us both literally and symbolically.  Immune system neuropeptides transform thoughts into matter, storing emotions and memories in body tissues.  These stored negative experiences, relationship issues and belief systems generate negative energy that affects our health.  The rational and censoring left brain can keep us from this information.  Through meditative aspects inherent in the art therapy process, we tap into the right brain, connecting to symbols, images and perceptions that speak to us from the unconscious. These images may both surprise and inform us.  The act of externalizing images releases repressed memories, stimulates our parasympathetic nervous system to calm us, and the images become our teacher.  By connecting our conscious with our unconscious we gain a more congruent sense of self, improving mind, body and spirit.

Color on

Try it and see if it improves your mood, helps you concentrate, reduces pain, or eliminates stress.  How about improve the morale and retention at your next corporate event?   I've assembled a "Color me Doodle" board on Pinterest along with some of my favorites here for you to help yourself to. 

Turn off, tune out and turn on life

One can't help but wonder what we should listen to today anyhow? After all, we're bombarded wherever we are, regardless of whether we are paying attention or really listening.


We should pick at least one day a week to tune out and turn off everything we can:  the computer, the telephone, the TV, the radio and just be in the moment.

When is the last time you went for a walk and just listened to the natural noise surrounding you?  Did you hear birds singing?  Traffic off in the distance or police sirens?  What you tune into can say alot about who we are.  If we can't tune out or turn off for a day, we're in trouble.

Can you prevent the draw of your telephone or email to check messages?  How uncomfortable does it make you?  Keeping your computer turned off may be a sign that you are too connected to it and ending up shutting off life around you.

How does silence sound to you?  Loneliness, solitude or contentment.  I doubt I could ever become a nun or monk.  What about abstinence of everything.  No speaking, no singing, no laughter.

Maybe if we turn off and turn on life, we can become better equipped to tune out the unnecessary noise that make us feel fearful, guilty, angry or unable to cope.