Day 214: The Zen of Coloring

There is something simple and beautiful in the act of coloring. Somehow it brings us peace. Whether it be children or adults, it gives us something to focus on for a half-hour or so. It allows us to clear our minds of all the other crap that is going on in our lives. Our only choice becomes which color to choose next.

I think the American society realized that a few years ago when the adult coloring book craze hit the shelves. Magnificent art was created in the process as a bi-product of the booming product. Albeit, the product has fizzled out in comparison to the number of books that once appeared at nearly every retail store. To entrepreneurs, I think it was similar to the Pet Rock: a craze that they knew would probably not last, so it was important to shove it in our face at every angle in order to make money quick. Children’s coloring books will be around until we burn ourselves up, but “adult” coloring books have a lifespan. The beauty and complexity of the images create the attraction, but they also create the boredom. It takes a long time to fully color an image with fifteen hundred individual spaces. Yes, coloring is simple, but those images become a daunting task. I’ve never seen a whole book colored. Hell, I have never seen one image fully colored. But I am sure that people have done it. Just not enough people.

Despite the losing battle with capitalism, adult coloring images are still very much alive and easily accessible for free. But that is not the point of this article.

The point is that the simple act of coloring allows an adult to feel like a kid again. We can be creative without being able to draw well. We can spend some time focused on one thing, allowing the mind to relax, and allowing the heart to settle. Coloring, I believe, can be a productive form of self-therapy because there are far fewer decisions to be made. Think about picking out a movie to watch with the family now on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO, or Showtime versus picking out a movie when there were only ten VHS’s or DVD’s on the shelf. When was it easier to choose? Coloring can eliminate or at least subside the overload of choice that we bombard ourselves with each day.

Coloring is simple. Coloring is peaceful. Coloring is _________________

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Image byAlexandra_KochfromPixabay