--- title: "Need a Creative Boost? Time to Tangle!" description: "In the the northern hemisphere, it’s getting to that time of year. Even if you love winter (as I do), the mid-winter drearies can strike and your crea" author: "Emilie Villa" published: 2019-01-23 updated: 2019-01-23 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/12323/need-a-creative-boost-time-to-tangle category: "school" tags: ["writing"] reading_time: 5 minutes --- # Need a Creative Boost? Time to Tangle! I love it when I see evidence that the Universe is taking care me. I had to register a couple of months ago, to guarantee my spot. I work in a writer company, our company provides, pay to write my essay service in USA. I decided to go for it out of curiosity and for the off chance of meeting some new people in my new area, but little did I know that the workshop would happen smack in the middle of my mid-winter drearies. \ A day before the workshop, on a particularly dreary day, I received the reminder email and did a little research. And, what do you know … it turns out the workshop is just what the doctor ordered! What could be better when you get mired in the mid-winter drearies?! It gets better … Most of us know what mandalas are: circular spiritual symbols found in many religious traditions. They are often used to help focus attention for [meditation](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/106003/best-meditation-apps-for-you) and/or prayer. Mandalas – From the east to the west Exploration of our universal symbols, popularized the word in the west. In his own personal sketches, he saw the pattern emerging and observed: Again, there’s that link to creativity. I’m familiar with Jung’s theories and his exploration of universal symbols. The logo for this blog is [one of them](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/47593/what-are-the-prevalent-water-proofing-systems-write-a-short-notes-on-any-one-of-them): a variation of the ancient ouroboros, a circular symbol of the cycle of destruction and creation. (That’s how I see reinvention: a release of what was for what can be.) Basically then, the logo is my mandala for new beginnings. So I assumed that a Zendala would be a Zentangle in the shape of a mandala. But, with that, comes the additional layer of meaning (don’t you love universal symbols for that?!): Now that was music to my mid-winter drearies-afflicted writing brain!! Fun and [Connection](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13012/what-makes-ethernet-connection-better-than-wifi) We placed our first zendalas on the floor to get a group photo. Each one was truly unique. It was really fun! That alone is something we writers often forget about: we need to have fun. We also need to connect with others. I struggle with that one a little. It’s not just that I’m an introvert, but I also work alone from home, in very rural surroundings. It’s beautiful. It’s peaceful. It’s inspirational. And it can also be a little crazy-making [if you don](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/159346/how-is-the-exception-handled-if-you-don-t-catch-it)’t get out every once in a while. I met some super-nice women and I hope to meet up with them again. One of them was an artist—Karen Richardson—and I’m giving her a little plug here because she does such beautiful work. Go and take a look. Not only does she sell her art, but she also offers workshops. Painting in watercolor is something I’ve always wanted to learn so I’ll be making plans. Pause and [Reflection](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13004/how-to-write-a-reflection-paper) New [activities](https://www.mindstick.com/interview/2589/describe-android-activities-in-brief), new people, new surroundings. They all fuel reflection. Here’s some of what I thought about afterward … #1: Perfectionism is still the elephant on my shoulders. Sitting beside an accomplished artist while learning to draw a Zendala is a great way to trigger that demon! But, as we all know, none of us are perfect and expecting it to be otherwise is a sure-fire way to squelch our creative confidence. #2: We are like snowflakes. See that picture above? We all received the same tools and the same instruction and yet no two drawings are the same. #3: [Comparison](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/23182/comparison-maruti-suzuki-celerio-v-s-tata-tiago) is good … and bad. If you’re doing it to learn (like I did when I kept looking at Karen’s handiwork), that’s okay. We need good models. But, if we’re doing it to find fault with our own work it’s just bad and, yes, I did that too. (Loop back to #1.) #4: Get out more. Working from home presents [challenges](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/325216/challenges-faced-by-technologists-while-performing-the-cloud-migration-process), one of which is isolation … especially after you move to a new town. I miss face-to-face contact with [intelligent](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/1755/top-9-most-intelligent-indians-who-inspired-us) and engaging people (aside from my husband). I’m super excited for things like BAM 2016 in Vegas (yay!!), but I have to find some ‘real people’ close to home as well. How nice it would be to talk over tea, share a walk or wander through some shops. #5: Cut computer time. My work, my network, my courses, my research … they’re all on the computer, so I don’t want to walk away from it all together. However, my creative soul and my [mental health](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/43771/mental-health-in-the-workplace) are nagging at me: “writers cannot live on screen alone”. I’m not sure how I’m going to do it, but I must try or burnout will surely follow. To start: two days a week, I’m going offline. (I’ll let you know how that goes.) I’ll even do more drawing. #6: Loosen up! When you’re drawing tangles, the lines and designs improve dramatically when your hand is relaxed. Forget about keeping a firm grip on the pen, and pushing down too hard on the paper is a sure way to wreck it. #7: Breathe. As I wrote a couple of months ago on, breath is our constant companion. It calms. It revitalizes. And I found myself --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/blog/12323/need-a-creative-boost-time-to-tangle Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.