The Overturned Crayon Box

Colouring books for adults. What a fantastic idea, or so I thought. Armed with my recently bought colouring book and a brand new box of a 50 pack of Crayola pencil crayons, I set about colouring the first picture in the book. A tea pot, cup and saucer with a very confusing pattern. I had read that colouring was an avenue to destress, an activity that allows your mind to rest by focussing on one task, similar I gather to yoga when you focus on your breathing. Why then was I getting more and more flustered? I didn't know where to start. What colour was I to use first? You see, I always wished I was artistic, creating beautiful pieces of work that made people happy. In high school art class was a struggle. Symmetry, colours, lines all blurred into one mess. I just could not get it. And then it hit me,  why not use the crayons in the order presented in the box? And I set about colouring.

Tea Pot with Cup and Saucer

Not bad for a first attempt in my humble opinion. So on to my next picture guided by the way the crayons were presented in the box. Red, blue, black, white...I was bored. The 2nd picture in a book of 23 pages. Using the crayons in the order packed by the manufacturer created the 'mindless' stress free activity I read about, but not the fulfillment I thought I would get. I skipped to the 2nd row and picked a green and yellow to add some oomph. Mark you, they were still beside each other, just in a different row.

Balloons

On to the third, again using colours that were lined up beside each other. That is until the crayons fell out of the box! Noooooo.... My first instinct was to panic. Almost instantly something switched (thank you Helen and Marguerite), what a wonderful thing to have happened. I was no longer restricted to the order of colours that someone else created. I was free. The overturned box of crayons reminded me that someone else's order is not my own, and I will never be able to be who I truly am if I remain confined within the box. Life has a funny way of reminding you of just what you need. I finished the picture with a new outlook. The end result is all mine and I am happy.

Party Dress