Practicing imperfektion

I am in the middle of making a few "gifts" for a mindfulness class that I am attending.  It's my turn to come up with a 3-5 minute mindfulness exercise.  

Here's what I came up with -

• Each item will be wrapped as if it were a present - most likely Christmas themed.  

• I will hand out a gift to each person. Before they unwrap the item, I will instruct them to only notice what they are doing; to resist the urge to notice the person next to them and what they are unwrapping.

• I will ask them to only notice the "observe" skill of what is happening in their body as they feel the paper, unwrap the gift, and find what is there.  They will be reminded not to make "judgements" about it - which means no interpretation–just the sensation, not a feeling label.  

• Next, they will notice the word inscribed on the picture. They will be allowed to "describe" the feeling to themselves without interpreting.  Describing involves using one word - an emotion is usually one word. More than that it becomes a thought or interpretation.

• After all is done each will share their experience. 

Mindfulness exercises are helpful to break down the "emotions" and "thoughts" that we all feel at once and to notice each component from the body to the mind. 

Thoughts are just thoughts, feelings are just feelings - they are not the event or the situation.  

For the exercise, I purchased frames from the dollar store.  I drew words onto card stock–measured to fit within the frame. I used calligraphy or lettering as it is now called and tried to make each one look different but still calm so as not to cause a shock to the mind - I wanted them to be neutral. Colour has a way of invoking emotion.

Afterwards, everyone will have a Christmas present to take home.

It''s a lot of work but I am reaping the benefits right now of being able to focus on one thing at a time (a mindfulness skill) and being able to "bless" each of the recipients.

Here is how I made them.

Dollar store frames

card stock measured to fit the frame

pencil to draw my lettering

eraser to remove pencil marks later

Faber Castell artist pen - medium nib

• pencilled word

• filled in and finished with ink from the pen

• framed

• 3 down 5 more to go

Why did I name this post "practicing imperfection".  

Having things exact is a weakness of mine.  I need pictures lined up and straight. I like my lettering evenly shadowed, centered and, well, perfect.

It's hard for me to see some letters uneven in my opinion, or fatter uneven "e"s.  

I've been known to rip up cards that I have handwritten because of a "mistake" or because I didn't like the way the letters looked.

I let all this go, reminding myself that it's hand drawn–not computer generated.

photos and artwork by @countrygirl