Paintings, especially paintings of people, are not just beautiful pieces of art, they can also be artistic ‘mirrors’. Usually, when you look at a painting, you dwell on the art – the figures, their expressions, the colors, how they blend and change. Have you ever stopped to gaze at a painting, while remaining aware of what it brings up in you? How it makes you feel? What thoughts, memories or emotions come up within you while you look at it?

The dictionary definition of doodle is to scribble or make a rough drawing absentmindedly. However, doodling, as opposed to drawing, is an activity where you can fearlessly express, without the pressure of having to meet any external standard. A doodle represents something that has meaning exclusively for you.This mental health week, let’s try and see if we can make sense of this activity more ‘present-mindedly’!

With the busy lives that people lead, everyday routines do not have too much room for spontaneity. In that cramped room of “too many things to do/not enough time”, your natural urge to explore, to try something new or to just have fun hides in a corner, eagerly awaiting its turn. You let your roles and responsibilities limit you and thus, miss out on the rest of you! In this article, read about discovering this seemingly lost idea of “spontaneity”.