Tangling in the Time of Pandemonium

First, let me say that I hope you are doing well – that you are in a safe place, that you’re healthy, and have something or someone to keep you sane.

Second, I have been putting off writing a blog post because ::gestures at everything::

All of our inboxes and social media feeds have been bombarded, swamped, and otherwise hijacked about news about “it,” how to tell if you have “it,” here’s 1,000,000 free resources to help you keep from getting bored or to stay productive.

Ugh.

I’m tired, I’m stressed, and I am seriously scatterbrained. I’ve never been the type of person to forget why I went into a room – but now I am full on going into a room to do Activity A and end up starting Activities X, Y, and Z….only to remember Activity A like 4 days later.

At the very least, I have Zentangle®. And oh, thank heavens for that! There have been so many times in the last 6 weeks that I have needed a breather, or something to keep my hands busy that didn’t involve stress-inhaling Hot Cheetos or shame-guzzling Apothic Dark wine by the bottle. I still do both those things, maybe just in smaller increments. But, with my Zentangle® practice I am able to force myself to focus, to steady my nerves, and create something beautiful. It’s help redirect a frenetic energy into a calmer one and to help me get back on track with work (I’m working from home, which should be the greatest thing ever – it’s not! Likely because it’s not exactly voluntary).

Is it 100% effective all of the time?

Of course not! But it does give me something tangible to hang on to and I am certainly not worried about getting bored. It also helps give me a sense of community. There are so many other tanglers out there that I am acquainted with solely because of Zentangle. We are all sharing our experiences and our art and it helps to have that thread of connectivity to the real world!

I am also still holding my Tangle Hangout Sessions on Zoom – almost weekly (I had to cancel tonight because I had too many things to do that I kept putting off-and here I am doing one of them! If you would like to join – just shoot me an email and I’ll send you the link (if you’re reading this as one of my mailing list subscribers you can just reply to the email)! I am also randomly popping onto Instagram Live to do some tangling – thought that’s a bit more sporadic and I haven’t do so in a week or so. But, in any of these sessions I so enjoy seeing everyone’s faces and comments. It gives me something to look forward to every week (and a great way to keep track of which day it is!).

If you’re at a loss as to what to do – whether you’ve done Zentangle or not – just take a pen and a piece of paper and draw a line, then another next to it, and then again. Keep doing that – slowly and making sure to breath. Focus on each millimeter of ink to paper and keep going until you can’t anymore. I promise – just taking that simple action and repeating over and over again will help you reset and feel a little bit better.

Leave a comment or send me an email – tell me how you’re doing and how you’re coping. I love hearing from you!

And, hey, if you’re bored or need some extra Zentangle-y instruction and coaching – come join me on my Patreon!

Cheers!

Sarah