Jump for Joy

LET IT OUT!

When you feel something, whether good or bad, no matter what it is, I firmly believe you should show it. Feeling sad? Show it – give others the opportunity to comfort you. Feeling stressed? Show it – maybe you can share your burden. Feeling confused? Show it – someone has the answer, if you just ask the question. Feeling overjoyed? Show it – allow everyone to celebrate with you in this great feeling! Spread the love!

This is my “jump for joy” sketch. I think it’s an incredible feat just to be able to do this (don’t try this at home kids!) but it expresses SO MUCH! I saw a shirt once that said “Happy People Dance”. How true. I mean, that’s not the extent of it, but I definitely believe that truly happy people will express themselves in some way, I think you should! Show your happiness, spread that joy, that energy! Let your life be a contagion of emotion.

Spread the love, people. You never know who’s watching and needs that affection.

I do believe I am HAPPY with this sketch. 😉

Calm in Chaos

My journey in yoga has been a long one, a one in which I’ve learned countless lessons. It has taken me through the lowest of emotional drags, and the greatest happy highs.

Not too long ago I heard a phrase during class that has allowed me to find space in my life no matter what is going on. Yoga is calm in chaos – that means that through good and bad, your mat is your escape, and it’ll always be that calm in the storm, your getaway to check yourself and emerge refreshed and refocused.

When my yoga instructor said, “…that’s what yoga is, it’s calm in chaos…” I was inspired to draw what it meant to me. I started simply by sketching out the basic lotus pose, seated, with hand in hand. It’s a settled, grounded, relaxed position that starts nearly every class:

 

That’s the calm. Then I started on the chaos – and this is not technically finished – I had hopes of doing a lot more but time escaped me and I signed and titled it before it got left behind in the back of my sketchbook for good.

I’m very happy with it – I think it conveys what I felt, and still feel about the peace and serenity that I can depend on amidst anything and everything that’s going on around me. You can’t control any of that, but you can control yourself and your thoughts and feelings. Taking time to look inside, check yourself and your mental state can help you to find inner calm and strength in times when you really need it.

Stay focused, stay strong, and find the calm in the chaos.

I do believe I am quite happy with this 1st attempt! 🙂