Happy Friday! Since there was no school on Veteran’s Day this past Wednesday, K and I headed to the Japanese Garden to meet up with some friends.
It was so beautiful and serene. I almost felt like I should whisper and suppress my coughs.
The autumnal leaves boldly accented the lush green landscape. Red, gold, persimmon (there were actual persimmons too).
The koi fish gathered under the small bridges. Many were autumnal in color too, but the one that caught my eye was indigo, of course.
A stately heron camouflaged itself into the foliage and scenery.
This calming, meditative and meticulously manicured bit of nature was just what I needed (we found two women hand-plucking moss off of a small tree; they smiled and explained to us how the moss hinders the beauty of the branches). It reminded me of these coloring books. I’ve always had a weakness for coloring books, and right now there’s an explosion of them on the market. These were meant to be research — I wanted to know what “anti-stress art therapy” looked like. I’m all about anti-stress, as you know. It looks lovely, it turns out, with simple line drawings ranging from geometrics to nature-inspired scenes. I find, however, that I’m not inclined to color in other people’s drawings (I keep wanting to create my own) and it seems a shame to let these sit around without de-stressing anyone.
I’m not sure if anyone would be interested in these but I’ll throw ’em out there to see if there are takers. Even if you’re not into coloring, I think these would make sweet gifts. I’ll select two winners, one for each book, and to enter the giveaway, I’d love to know: what do you do to cultivate mindfulness or a sense of calm? Do you meditate? Take walks? Drink a special tea?
I’ll leave the giveaway open until next Friday, November 20th and will contact the winner on the following Monday. International entries are always welcome. Good luck!
Mindfulness is good
But monkey mind is my norm
How about for you?
Have a superb weekend, all!
The Japanese garden is beautiful. I’ll have to visit next time I’m in Seattle. I am trying to start my day with a 15-20 minutes sitting meditation. It brings me back to the present, instead of thinking about all the things I need to do.
A hot shower at the end of the day centers me. With three little ones, it’s one of my only moments of guaranteed quiet. I’ve also been zentangling in stolen minutes, which is quite relaxing.
I make a big cup of tea and do some sudoku! But I would love to try these out!
I LOVE these colouring books. I’m also not great at consciously destressing but I do love to knit with some Netflix or sew without interruption.
Those look like fun. I have colored once lately with the kids and it was kind of relaxing. I like to drink peppermint tea in the evenings and curl up with a good book. 🙂 Unfortunately that usually means I stay up too late reading so I can finish the book. Oops! 🙂
That garden looks very peaceful! I have been wanting someone to give me one of these colouring books for a gift for months (I guess I could just go and buy my own). Winning one of these would be perfect timing as I am a teacher and we are 1 month off our long summer break in New Zealand – I could get some serious colouring done!
These coloring books look terrific! I am also very prone to monkey mind :-). I have had the most success with more active or sensory meditations like walking or sound meditation. I think my most oft used is to try to get through a whole shower or dish washing session focusing on the sensory experience rather than lost in my thoughts.
Thank you for a wonderful blog!
I like my walks and my tea, but over the past few months my biggest de-stressor is crawling around on the floor with my son. What adult is more mindful than an 11 month old baby?
I crawl around, he follows me. I make a noise like ‘blblblblbl’, he squeals and crawls off, and I crawl after him. Through him, I’ve learned to really appreciate the merits of the air vent that sits low on the hallway wall.
Do you know that a metal air vent can also be used as a drum or a harp? And don’t even get me started on how much fun we have with the IKEA lamp in my bedroom.
Anyone who can keep himself happy for an hour with an empty water bottle has a lot to teach us about de-stressing.
I try to fit small moments of being still into my day. Like getting lavender scented dish soap, and taking a deep breath before starting the dishes, and enjoying the smell. Or stopping to listen to the bird song. Or savouring that moment of fully immersing into a hot bath. Pure bliss:-)
Oh that garden looks beautiful! I think a nice walk or sitting quietly in nature calms me down. If that is not available I will turn on my special playlist of music to undepress me. I don’t want to be entered in the giveaway because I’d rather make something than color someone else’s pictures. 🙂 But I do agree these new adult coloring books are lovely.
This is a lovely garden–so serene. I love serene and live in chaos. Crafting and keeping a house clean, cooking,etc–just forces you to the monkey mind. I have tried so many things for peace, Yoga, better diet, mindfulness practice, books on tape. But, I have not tried coloring!! Maybe this is the piece that will finish this constant struggle. I really think I should just not try to get so much done in a day.
Hey, I really love these! I have a soft spot for colouring books and these look really cool. I adore the cover of the first one, in particular, those waves are pretty! (:
I don’t really do any conscious “mindfulness” or “de-stressing” activities or anything like that. I try not to be stressed in the first place. I remind myself that there’s no sense in being stressed, it doesn’t help anyone, it doesn’t improve anything, and there’s no reason in the first place. No stress means no de-stressing required. (;
Ooh, I was just thinking about coloring books for grown ups! One thing that helps me maintain my sanity as a mom of young kids is getting time with good friends. I love feeling connected to them and sharing about our life challenges makes me feel able to better face them.
I was just telling my family that I’d really like to try one of these books! I love the calm I get from knitting – as long as it’s not a complicated pattern. I also find swimming laps somewhat meditative.
i love the new “adult coloring books” trend – i’ve still been holding onto my hello kitty and barbie ones from childhood and whipping them out when i need a relaxing activity, but these new coloring books make me look slightly more dignified while coloring. pretty much anything tedious relaxes me. i know tedious has a negative connotation to it but i always look at it as referring to something very repetitive and simple. my favorite tedious habits are coloring, crocheting and doing my nails.
I like to walk. I feel like I could go forever sometimes. For more short term don’t-sell-the-children moments I tend to rely on chocolate though. 😉
My sister and I have loved “adult” coloring books (although that always makes them sound a little risque to me!) for years, and these look lovely.
When I am stressed and overwhelmed, I go outside and watch my honeybees go in and out of their hives. They are beautiful and so purposeful; it helps me realign. 🙂
I think those books look fun since i don’t draw too often. My form of meditation is prayer.
I know coffee might sound weird, but I can enjoy a good cup of coffee. Throw in some good weather to sit outside and kids who’re quite for a second and I think I’m quite relaxed. 😉
I love coloring with the kids too, an adult book for me would be neat. 🙂
Ever since having kids, I don’t think I can remember what calm looks that 😉 That said, I do enjoy a good cup of tea (Breakfast in Paris from Stash Tea is my current favorite. The lavender spells wonderful.)
My sister told me about the adult coloring book craze a few months ago. I’m amused by the thought of it and am thinking of buying some as Christmas gifts. But I’m tempted to sneak in some “kid” coloring books too. As someone who every few years is coloring with one family kid or another, I think “grown ups” should remember to not always take themselves too seriously and enjoy being in the moment with kids and their activities. So I definitely appreciate the previous poster who mentions crawling around with an eleven-month old!
Here’s wishing everyone a moment of calm in the coming week 🙂
I like to settle down with a book and a cup of coffee, take the stress away for a few minutes. WOuld love to win these gorgous books 🙂
Oh how lovely! I will have to check out the japanese garden. It looks absolutely serene- so the perfect place to bring a wild toddler and an infant who just discovered his voice, no?
I find serenity in listening to worship music and praying. And calling my mom.
Knitting usually helps me de-stress. But when that doesn’t work, I keep reminding myself, “what’s comin’ will come, and we’ll meet it when it does”, as smartly told by Hagrid in Harry Potter. Surprisingly, that really helps! 😉
I’ve been wanting to try these type of adult coloring books. I think it would help me de-stress.
I usually will get a nice cup of tea and sit down and knit. Or making lists. It helps me to make lists of whats going on in my head..especially this time of year (Thanksgiving menu, ideas for Christmas, things to make first when my sewing machine gets set up..) ..very de-stressing I think.
Sewing is my scape from reality! I’m really curious about the books… plus I can’t take my sewing machine everywhere. This would be a nice alternative! 😉
I love to sit with a mug of hot tea after my kids have gone to bed. That has become my nightly de-stressing routine.
I do yoga mostly…helps shut my brain up a bit and brings me into the moment. I also knit (longer than I’ve been sewing!) and that’s fun, mindful and productive in the end too. Also since the summer my husband and I started taking tea after dinner sometime, and we just chat about things while the kids play…no phones, chores etc…it’s been a nice way to connect and just BE. Funny too…my husband has developed a drawing/watercolour hobby in the past few years and I can see it really becoming a good kind of mindful practice for him for sure.
Some kind of exercise is usually the best for me. Yoga is good, skating, ballet too.
I either exercise (light jog) or clean. The cleaning sounds weird but when I’m focused I get into a zone and the end result is always good since I’ll have a space that’s now chaos free.
I thought of another one! Weeding the garden! One if those repetitive activities, all if those little pullings out that help things to grow. The sight and smells. You never finish really, but you can stop when you want and it will still have done some good.