Pickup the Crayons and Try the New Thing

I had a weird experience recently where I went to an activity that involved some mediation that involved drawing.  The instructions were pretty simple, use the crayons and paper on the table to draw what comes to mind as the music playing.  I just set to work and focused on the task at hand.  In a very short time it became clear that others at my table were not drawing.  Whispers soon began about how they lacked talent, they had not drawn since they were children or how terrible their drawings would be if they tried.  I remained engaged in my simple creation of circles and petals and other design doodles.  Then I started to hear it, the rumble of peer encounters.  I started paying to attention and heard  – oh look at Teresa, what a show off, thinks she is an artist.  This was all done in playful tones, however it made me think.  I feel like the way this played out is a pattern we face over and over in activities of our lives.  First there are those that are hesitant to try, perhaps they were told by others that they were not good enough or too much of show off.  Things that we all know happen and affect how we feel about our talents and abilities over time.  So here was a group of women, not even willing to put crayon to paper because of some kind of past programming, unwilling to just dive in and get creative.  Second of course was also age old programming and experience.  While playful and joking, the next practiced response to not wanting to try was to call attention to those that are trying.  For context I will add that everyone at my table was over 70.  There is no age limit to how we limit ourselves. Is there anything that you are not doing because some old recording in your head is telling you not to. Where did that message some from?  Could it have been true? Or could it have been a coping mechanism of another person just trying to get by and hide their own vulnerability.  What does it all mean?  I think, we should just pick up a lot more crayons and start creating no natter what the circle around you teasingly says.  Try the new thing, sit quietly and meditate in any way that works, shut out the voices mean and playful that try to criticize or devalue your efforts.  Just do the things, make your own heart sing and keep going.