| A few days ago I was driving around in my car, | | | | each day fully, in as many ways as possible. And |
| running errands. The sun was shining. It was truly | | | | yes, one of those ways is to enjoy a beautiful |
| a beautiful spring day. I almost felt as if I were | | | | sunny day, doing not much at all, or at least |
| back in southern France. Having grown up there, I | | | | nothing overly productive, as per our North |
| can honestly say that I am a great "connaisseur" | | | | American standards anyway.Do you have |
| (that's French you know!) of what constitutes a | | | | "Doodle" days? And if not, do you remember |
| beautiful day: sunshine, blue skies, birds chirping (no | | | | them?What did you used to do as a child that |
| cigales/cicadas here) a bit of a light breeze, and | | | | allowed you to "escape"? Where did you go? |
| the uncontrollable need to do nothing productive. | | | | What were your favourite activities? Do you still |
| On that day in my car, life was very good | | | | have "Doodle" days? And if not... why not? Do |
| indeed!A song came on the radio, and I thought it | | | | you know why you should? Do you even know |
| was just so "a propos"! The artist was singing | | | | where to start?Why should you bring back the |
| about remembering the "Doodle" days. I thought: | | | | "Doodle" days?Because our brains are always |
| What a cute play on words, the "Doodle" days!I | | | | going, even during the night (please tell me it's not |
| certainly remember my early "Doodle" days with | | | | just me mentally making lists at night!), they |
| great fondness. Those were the days when I | | | | rarely get a rest. We can rest our bodies, but we |
| would find any opportunity to indulge in one of | | | | find it much harder to rest our minds. And so, we |
| my favourite pastime such as "griffonner et | | | | become forgetful and feel overwhelmed.You |
| dessiner" (doodling and drawing). "A la campagne" | | | | should bring back the "Doodle" days because you |
| (in the countryside), I would climb to the top of a | | | | deserve a vacation. You work hard and most |
| hill, sit among "le thym et le romarin" (the thyme | | | | likely take care of several people around you. But |
| and rosemary), and I would draw that 11th | | | | the likelihood of you going away on vacation to |
| century Romanesque chapel in the distance. "A la | | | | the South of France on a weekly basis is probably |
| plage" (at the beach) a stick would become my | | | | rather remote, right? |
| drawing tool, and the whole "plage" my forgiving | | | | I thought so...So... where do you start?How about |
| canvas.You can take the girl out of France, but | | | | at the beginning... You may not have grown up in |
| you can't take France out of the girl.To this day, I | | | | France, but I'm sure that when you were young, |
| treasure any "Doodle" day, or even any "Doodle" | | | | doing pleasurable things came to you naturally. |
| moment, when I mindlessly engage in fun, | | | | You didn't over think anything and just went with |
| relaxing, creative activities; one of my favourite | | | | your impulses. And here is a key component... You |
| being painting, with a brush in one hand, a glass of | | | | didn't feel guilty for not doing anything |
| "vin rouge" (that's right ladies, red wine!) in the | | | | "productive". Right?So... remember what it was |
| other, and Mozart in the background. The whole | | | | you used to love doing, it could have been |
| world seems to disappear and "mon esprit" (my | | | | running, watching the clouds while laying on your |
| mind) finds a restful place to spend some quality | | | | back in the soft grass, watching the river run by, |
| time.Here in North America, the philosophy of life | | | | doodling even... you get my drift! We may not |
| still focuses on "The Pursuit of Happiness", while in | | | | currently be living on "la Cote d'Azur" (the Riviera), |
| France, we believe in "La Joie de Vivre" (the Joy | | | | but we do have sunny days, and blue skies, and |
| of Living) and "La Douce Vie" (The Sweet Life). | | | | some of the nicest waterways in the world.Now... |
| To tell you the truth, the French can be a rather | | | | DO IT! Be more like the French once in a while. |
| fatalistic lot; so they believe it is best to enjoy | | | | |