Long ago, before Covid forced us to find entertainment in our own homes, a friend and I went to a “paint and sip” place. You know – those small shops where you drink wine and attempt to paint a picture with a group of strangers?! I was excited for this outing, but also a bit anxious. Could a boring accountant who spends her day behind a spreadsheet actually find enough creativity to paint – in public??
As we started to paint, I was focused and deliberate in following the instructor. Who needs creativity when I can just replicate a step-by-step process! (Note: the wine had not yet worked it’s magic to loosen up the “who cares” reaction…) After a while, painting felt more comfortable and I felt more confident. We laughed at our mistakes, and I was less afraid to add my own flare to the canvas. Slowly, I became less stressed about the quality of my work. We then began to look around the room, as we had conveniently positioned ourselves in the back. We found that the paintings we had made were actually pretty good compared to a few other disasters in the room. (Obviously we kept these opinions to ourselves!) Continue reading