Mental Space

When I'm not watching movies or TV while painting miniatures, I usually prefer to listen to something quiet in the background, lately it's been big old dungeon synth playlists on spotify. 

I find that listening to quiet music usually gives me the best chance to think while I paint. This hobby has become so important for me because for a solid chunk of time at night I get to go over the events that happened in my day, and think of solutions for problems that I may be facing the next day.

It's made me wonder why there aren't more times like this in my day. In the morning I journal, which has the same effect - but mostly my day feels packed in, busy, but not in a fulfilling way.

Thinking through how I spend my day, it doesn't take much time to realize that a majority of my day is spent subconsciously picking up my phone, and filling any sort of gap looking at my glowing screen.

I can make all the excuses I want to, I'm catching up on the news in the hobby, or I am seeing what my friends are up to, or maybe I'm making plans. However, at the end of the day it is obvious how much mental space and time the phone strips away from my life. 

I'm not saying that I should be better about putting the phone down so I can paint more minis, or be more "productive," but actually the opposite. If I am able to move away from filling any gap of time with doom-scrolling, I'd give myself the option to sit - and to think, getting the same satisfaction I get when I'm painting miniatures.

Who knows if I'll be able to do it, but painting minis has enhanced so many other creative aspects of my life. This lesson of creating mental space has potential to be the most important of them all. 

xo

TR