Perils Of An Adult Coloring Book

You are now officially warned of the perils of an adult coloring book. The facts are true, the allure is simplistic and the phenomenon is spreading like wildfire. Hold on to your Kindle, your iPhone, your smart phone and whatever else goes beep in the night, for technology as we know it is being threatened by a force that dares to transport us out of our chaotic world of mind numbing tweets and Facebook rants, into a therapeutic world of tranquility and relaxation.

Resistance is futile and yet I must face the perils of an adult coloring book with the courage to trade in my apprehension for calm and creativity. Unheard of and yet as I study the faces of coloring book aficionados something’s amiss, they seem… happy, in a world of their own, where bliss is achieved with the stroke of a colored pencil. I could not hold off any longer. I unplugged, took the bait and jumped in. When I emerged it was like something out of the Matrix where I saw things for what they truly were.

I was on planet Amazon surrounded by adult coloring books, best sellers that beckoned me with irresistible eye candy, blinding me, weakening my resolve. I had to get out. My stress levels were rising as I was besieged by Amazing Swirls and jostled by Good Vibes. I couldn’t give in so I figured I’d hide in the Secret Garden only to discover that it wasn’t so secret after all. Its sublime intricacies of gorgeous designs made it a world-wide phenomenon, a coloring craze where tiny garden creatures were waiting to pounce.

I was losing my grip and was under the impression that I could just walk away when I was accosted by a gang of curse books that told me to Calm The Fu*K Down. I stumbled on looking for a way out, mistakenly asking another curse book for the nearest exit only to be told to Go Fu*K Youself I’m Coloring.

Panic set in. My head was filling up with abstract designs as my brain was beginning to switch off. It was too much to handle. The world around me was fading. Was this the way it was suppose to end? In a shroud of darkness, a flash of light?

My eyes were glued shut and even though I could tune out the world I couldn’t turn off the voices; voices that rattled the very core of my existence with the harmonious melody of pure simplicity, of words that dared ask me to relax and unwind… relax and unwind. All of the sudden I felt a valiant surge to take a look and see.

And so I opened my eyes to the horror of a world that was in black and white. No one was there. I was alone and felt so empty that I just wanted to crawl back into the abyss, into the realm of nothingness so that I would see no one and no one would see me. I had no refuge, no technology to connect with and was utterly helpless to help myself.

What should have been the end was just the beginning, for in a heartbeat I was transported back into time, to a place where anxiety no longer existed. In my dream I was a little boy with a little hand grasping a bright purple crayon. For some bizarre reason I was captivated by a coloring book sitting on an old antiquated desk in front of me. No words were spoken, but something inside me was awoken.

Like magic the crayon took on a life of its own, drawing me closer, pulling me forward until I was one with the coloring book. Spellbound I was fixated on an ancient design of round patterns and concentric circles, a page that somehow spoke to me and made itself known as the all powerful Mandala. I was trembling, not in fear. but in jubilance as emotions coarsed through my body. Tears streamed down my face as I started coloring. It was then I realized I was back home in a world of color and a place of joy.

Even though I was an adult my heart was that of a child discovering himself for the first time. They say that coloring for adults can bring you back and set you free. The fact of the matter is you all ready are, but don’t know it. The perils of an adult coloring book come from simply ignoring the mindfulness that allows you to turn off the chatter of your mind.

In doing so you not only tap into a meditative state, but open a realm of creativity and healing that unlocks a wellspring of potentiality. I closed my eyes to dream when the all powerful Mandala whispered to me and said – An adult coloring book can open the way, for your heart to sing and transform your day, just remember the secret and never dismiss, to pick up a crayon and follow your bliss…