Jury duty

In the county where I live, one may be summoned for jury duty every three years.  In the 15 years I have lived here, I was summoned for the 2nd time last week.

For those of you who have passed time in a juror's waiting room, you know that it can be challenging to keep occupied.  Some folks bring a book and immerse themselves .... the young woman next to me had one open on her lap, but could not seem to read more than a paragraph before her Blackberry called to her and she spent time with that instead.

I brought a book AND my Zentangle supplies, and knew after I'd read the same page going on 3 times that it was a lost cause... I could not focus.  So out came my tile, pencil and pen, and I was off to let myself go and see what showed up.  Believe me, this is still a challenge for me... letting go of having to do it beautifully and then once finished, wanting to judge it as 'I could have done better'.  I just let go and it was great fun... and I know that one or two people in my vicinity took sidelong glances since I was not hiding what I was doing.

Luckily we were excused after only 90 minutes in that room, and my civic duty is complete for another three years, and hopefully much longer.

Striping moments

Here is a recent Zentangle with the pattern 'Striping'... a very basic one to learn.

It reminds me of simple choices....black or white, yes or no, one or the other... rather than so many shades of gray.  However, I remember years ago I answered a long questionnaire for a dating service (I actually did stuff like that???!!!) and was quite perturbed when neither answer on either side of the spectrum fit my point of view.

Hmmmmm, I wonder....does that mean I am too 'middle of the road'?  That I do not take a firm stand for something but rather waver on the outskirts of either choice?

The Zentangle process for me combines it all... choice of this one or that, deliberate strokes, yet no plan defined since patterns will end up anywhere on the tile.

Just like my life.... choices and one step at a time, not knowing what the outcome will look like.  

Found this photo and quote by Albert Einstein ... talks about simple.... hmmmm...

A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be.
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex… It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Everything should be as simple as it is, but not simpler.