Scribbling While My Car Gets Fixed

One of the best things about keeping a sketchbook:  you never get bored.

Any time I find myself in a waiting room, I can find something to draw.

Below are two I did, months apart, while my car got worked on.

First, a portion of the mechanics' office, as I sat in the waiting room.

All the angles in that proved quite a challenge for me.  My oil change got finished before I knew it and I was actually kind of sad to have to go on my way.

Second is one I drew this summer.  My car needed more extensive work, so a friend took my out for coffee while I waited.  We sat in a local park by the water.

Really, the magic of keeping a sketchbook is this:  it helps ground me in the present moment.  Instead of fussing about how long the car repairs are taking, or how inconvenienced I am by the situation I am in, instead of worrying about all the work I have to do or how much the car repairs are going to cost--in other words, instead of living in my mind's spinning negative thoughts--I get to settle my thoughts and pay attention, through my senses, to the world around me.

I get to be in the now, which is really all that there is.

When I can become more aware of what is really happening in the world around me, I always feel better, more alive and joyful.

Scribbling in my sketchbook helps me go deeper into what really is.  I almost always find more beauty there than I find in the world when I'm lost in my busy busy thoughts.  In fact, when lost in thought, I hardly even notice the world as it really is.

This is just one of the ways that scribbling in my sketchbook supports my spiritual life.