Morning Artist

Every morning you are an artist with a blank canvas.  What your day becomes depends on how you want to paint it.  What colors will you choose to use throughout your day?  Will they be earth tones? pastels?  Will you use light strokes or sharp brushes?

The colors you choose and the way that you apply them, will create the backdrop of your day.  To create a happy and sunny day paint your day in yellows and golds.  Add a little energy and creativity by mixing it up with orange.  To really show how special and unique you are splash some purple on the canvas.  Maybe this is too much for you.  Maybe you need a bit of serenity in your day?  Blue creates a sense of calm and comfort.  Express how compassionate and open your heart is with pink and throw in some green when you feel nurturing or are ready to turn over a new leaf.    Also white offers cleansing and a fresh start.  Tread carefully with blacks and grays, they could lead to depression.  Best to use them to outline and sharpen your outlines.

What color is YOUR day?

Inspired by my friend, Chelsea's post over at  Om School, I decided to share this lesson with my children.  After our morning meditation, we sat in circle time and shared our favorite colors.  I then asked them why they resonate with that color.  For Mikey, (7 year old), he likes Red because it reminds him of energy.  For Max, (4 year old), he likes Green, because he loves to play outside in the grass.  And for Alex, (3 year old) he likes blue, because it is pretty.  Mikey turned to me and said, "I know your favorite color is pink."  I looked at him and felt terrible that my favorite color had changed once again.  I told him, "Actually, today I like Green.  My favorite color changes everyday with my moods..."  And so our lesson began.

We explored the colors - which were hot, warm and cool, what they represent to us and how they would be useful in our day.  We colored pictures of happiness and sadness.  We labeled emotions with colors. (love-pink, sadness-gray, etc)  We discussed our feelings and what colors we should paint our day with.  The boys loved the exercise and continued to use it throughout the day.  When one was acting up, another would approach and point out that they are adding too much black to their day.  Hopefully this practice will continue and keep them in the present moment,  mindful of how their outlook and actions are projected to others.

Morning Artist