Chicken Scratch
I don't know if I'm following my intention or escaping but I did a bunch of doodling today. It really does help me relax - I hit flow and lose track of time... and the dog... and dinner. Oops.My day wasn't fantastic. I don't know how to write about it without beating myself up for beating myself up. I recognize the feeling now. I'm subconsciously picking on myself somehow, like a bully who constantly flicks balls of paper at your head but never gets caught.My day wasn't fantastic b/c I wasn't fantastic. I could blame it on a lack of sleep, soda with dinner, hormones, lack of exercise, guilt, boredom or anything else. Who the f-knows? I've always focused on the cause, some semblance of control... I'm sure the cause matters, but I want to take a different approach. Now that I can name this feeling, what can I do to ride it out or change it?The worst part of this is that my mind goes blank on options. I forget what makes me happy, my lack of oomph keeps me from experimenting, and I basically sit and stare at nothing while my inner self stands before a firing squad. All day. I force myself to stay away from wallowing completely (read: go back to bed) but I seem to expect Super Productive Self to swoop in and save the day.She doesn't.I think, "Yesterday was so so good. I had energy, I got a ton done and I felt happy." And then I start whining, "Why can't I feel like that everyday!?!?" AKA "What is wrong with me?".I'm beginning to realize that this is ME. Just in the way the world isn't black and white, I can not expect to have every day be negative free. I can't expect my emotions to be smooth and easy. It's silly to place that expectation on it. Very hard for a perfectionist to accept. I am trying so hard to do everything perfectly to avoid the very emotional state I end up in.It's exhausting. But, as always, awareness is the first step. Now it's on to changing behavior and thought patterns, to find better ways to love myself in these instances. Today I made butternut squash soup, called someone who cares, doodled and journaled, but it's all too shallow. There's more down below...
Well I looked at the granite markers / Those tribute to finality - eternity / And then I looked at myself here / Chicken scratching for my immortality. ~Joni Mitchell