have a big family, students, and several projects that are very dear to my heart. I only bring this up for supporting evidence that I have very little downtime. This is not to say that I don’t take care of myself; my daily exercise schedule is sacred to me. But as for the times when you aren’t doing anything, purposeful nothingness… I don’t get much of that. So, when I had the opportunity to relax on the beach with my husband for a couple of hours I was quite looking forward to it! Everything was pretty perfect: Towel, check! Umbrella, check! Adult coloring book, check! Crayons, check! Yes, I know, it’s shocking, but from what I hear, coloring is the new meditation. In fact, recently six of the top 20 best selling books on Amazon were coloring books. Touted as a way to tap into your creativity, reduce anxiety and connect to simpler days of childhood, adult coloring books are all the rage. The coloring books and crayons were a gift from a friend and this seemed like the perfect time to get reacquainted with my inner child. (Fun Fact: Carl Jung even used them as a technique for tapping into the subconscious.) There I was, sunning on the beach (well, actually I was shading on the beach), spending peaceful moments with my husband, coloring, when a little girl walked up to me and sat on my lounge chair – personal space was not a concept that she apparently had a grasp on. She came over with the purpose of selling something I would never need, and became distracted by what I was doing. She leaned way over and demanded my coloring book. I was taken aback, but I offered her a page of the book. She was having... Continue Reading