A sketch for the soul

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Firstly, Happy Easter! It’s a beautiful sunny day here in the South of England. In about an hour I’m heading to my parent’s house to host an egg hunt. I like to interpret the Easter Bunny in a slightly unconventional manner, in that it is actually a fiend who steals the eggs from children, as opposed to giving them out. Don’t worry though, my nieces love the thrill of having to find the eggs before I bound along with a pair of bunny ears on my head, trying to catch them in a net!

With all the family events such as today’s, my anxiety has sky rocketed a bit. I find that I am most anxious when I’m put in a position of obligation or responsibility to others, where it would be inconvenient for me to leave. It’s so frustrating that our family get togethers that I really love- like today’s, becomes a bit of a task for me.

What I have noticed though, is that when I feel this way, one of my favourite mindful activities is sketching. I took a GCSE in Art, but have taught myself since then so like to think I’ve improved…

I can sit for up to 10 hours doing a sketch. I have to be wary though, as it feeds my perfectionism, trying to get it all done at once. I am trying to teach myself that I can leave things and come back to it later. I also find that if I’m not in the right mood, I really struggle to do the mouth on a sketch. Maybe that’s just me, but I often wonder if it symbolises how I’m feeling too… Without a voice, perhaps?

I thought I’d share some of my drawings with you anyway, I’d love to see some of yours too!

Have a beautiful Easter folks.

Published by kimulley

Hi there! I'm a registered mental health nurse from the UK. For many years now, I've battled Depression and Anxiety and fought my assumptions that I "should" be able to cope better given my profession and that this made me a failure. Slowly but surely, with the help of my colleagues, friends and family, I'm learning to be kinder to myself- I am a human, first. My hope for this blog is that I can use it to document my highs and my lows, as I embark on an experiment to make life a little better for myself, using the teachings from a fabulous book I read- 'Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy and Liberation' by Thich Nhat Hanh. And if I manage to inspire a couple of others along the way, then it's all been worth while! I'm choosing transformation- Are you?

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28 thoughts on “A sketch for the soul”

  2. Kim, thanks for sharing your words, but your artwork is truly amazing! You have a gift, and it is wonderful of you to share it. I hope that your Easter goes well, and you can relax and leave some of those anxious feelings on a nearby fence post for awhile. I hope that this Resurrection Sunday brings much light to illuminate your path more brightly than ever before.

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  4. Thank you for sharing your photos of your wonderful drawings!.. perhaps in time you might consider working in the world of art as I have no doubt in my mind you would be successful as well the happiness you would feel in your heart!…
    Have a wonderful Easter Sunday and hope it is filled with peace, love happiness and all that you wish for it to be!!.. 🙂

    “When you are truly inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project… your mind transcends its limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world! Then those dormant forces, faculties and talents inside you become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” Patanjali “

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    1. Thank you 🙂 Well, never say never! I do enjoy it. I have been considering studying to become an Art Psychotherapist but I’m not sure… Wishing you a peaceful day also ❤

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  6. Art takes you to the skin. First, your writings are fabulous and now, your sketches are explendid. I only write poems but I like to recognize people who do the best. Enjoy your family on this Easter Sunday.

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  8. WOW, those are excellent. You have many different skills. My son is taking some art classes at the moment and is really getting better. I may need to take some as well. Keep up the great work. How was the event? I hope it went well.

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    1. Thank you so much! It’s a rare opportunity to not think for a few hours. Oh good for him, I think you’d enjoy it 🙂 It was actually really nice in the end thanks, I had a lovely time with my family. I hope you’ve had a restful weekend?

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      1. That’s great! Yes mine was good. Preached in the morning and then had a great time with family as well. Even got a nap in! Been working on my sleep as well, and slowing inching up to 7 hours, so feeling better with that too.

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      2. Ah that sounds lovely! Oh, how I envy anyone who can nap in the day! I bet, actual quality sleep does wonders, doesn’t it. What have you been doing differently?

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      3. For the last almost three years I’ve been waking up at 4am, to blog, create books, read books, etc. I still wake up early, but I have completed a lot of my projects. My body is still waking up early but I’m keeping track of my sleep with my Garmin watch, so going back to sleep to get more, and forcing myself to go to bed earlier. I’m slowly getting off social media, though I’m having withdrawals. Twitter is gone. Instagram is done. Almost done with Facebook. Mind is beginning to rest more. I’m looking into getting a new mattress and cutting back on caffeine. I’m addicted to caffeine and have relied on it for too long.

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      4. Gosh that is early. It’s nice to hear that cutting the social media is having a positive effect, that gives me hope! I’ve had to change to decaf too, but it’s definitely made me less fluttery. Well done for putting in those steps so far!

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      5. Thanks. I get so much done in the morning. But I recognize that sleep is just as necessary. Will just have to say “No” to a few more things. Saying “No” is at times a challenge but I’m getting better at it

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      6. It’s funny isn’t it, how we have natural peaks and troughs in the day. I agree, tricky having the discipline to enforce boundaries upon yourself, in the name of self- care.

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  9. Mental health and artistic output?
    Always a connection it seems, and always interesting to see whether that creative output airs on the ‘chilled positive’ or ‘this picture will cause screaming and panic’ side of things
    You can guess my side of the deal I think!!

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    1. Totally. Either side is a valuable expression of something, I reckon. Same as classical music and heavy metal I spose 🙂 Both have a purpose and can totally influence my mood!

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