Hand drawn mandala

In this blog post I’m going to share a mandala coloring sheet I recently drew. And I’m about to tell you about a decision I made three months ago, that in hindsight wasn’t all too smart.

The last couple of days I’ve been working on a review of a new mandala coloring book. And that book inspired me to draw a mandala of my own. More on that in a bit.

Click here to go to the ‘Tabby Reads‘-podcast video in which I read this blog to you, in case you’d rather listen to it while watching some nice visuals.

The decision I made…

Three months ago I decided to give in to my aversion of sending emails to the subscribers of my newsletter. I deleted the opt-in option from the website, and sent out an email notifying everyone that this was the last email I would sent.

Following that I also stopped using social media. I turned to push notifications and a Telegram channel, to which everyone that wanted to could sign up to be able to follow me.

Well, I’m here to tell you now, that that was a stupid decision. Not that I stopped using social media. I’m still feeling the same about that and haven’t regretted it one bit that I stopped using that. My accounts are still there, as you may have noticed, and last week I announced my online Sunday gig there, but it didn’t feel good. Although it did trigger some traffic from people that clicked through to my post.

I also don’t regret adding push notifications to my website, because it’s a direct way to notify people that I have posted something new.

…and regret now

What I do regret, is that I decided to quit sending emails. And I got to realize that thanks to a workshop I was following, of Mr. Notes from the Universe Mike Dooley (together with Hope Koppelman), as part of the writing course ‘21 Day Writing Journey‘ I was following.

My main reason for no longer sending mails to my mailing list, is dead simple: I hate it ?. Really. Every email I’ve sent, I felt embarrassed. As if I’m bothering people, knocking on their doors (possibly YOUR virtual door) and stealing their time.

For what? I was constantly questioning myself, that the best option to me to get rid of that horrible nagging feeling, was to stop it. Not sending emails anymore, was the fastest way out of the feeling of being a nuisance with every sent email.

Working on a solution

Well, I was wrong. Even though I still don’t get very excited about the idea of sending out emails again, I do know now that it’s still the best way to reach people. And maybe the people on the current list aren’t all my target audience. I know I’ve started adding music and stories to the website. I get it if that’s not quite interesting for colorists, art journalers or crafters.

The good news is: we’re working on a solution to make my emails interesting for all my followers, whether music or art related!

Change of plan

So here’s my new plan. I’ll start again and write an email every week. I need to get out of my comfort zone. I gotta stop feeling like nobody’s waiting for me outside of our house. I’m 52, I know by now that there are people out there that really appreciate the things I do. And that there really are people that like the stories I share, and the songs that I sing. I just need to find more of them!

Well, if you’re one of them and you haven’t subscribed to my mailing list in the past, this is a good opportunity to subscribe right now by clicking here!

Back to the mandala

First off, you’ll get it as a coloring sheet for FREE when you sign up to my mailing list. I’ve not only drawn a mandala, but I’ve also added an inspirational sentiment to it. A text that was inspired by the mandala itself.

I intend to draw more in the near future, and I’m hoping to get inspiration to create more motivational sentiments. This first mandala has already been added as a coloring sheet to my webshop, and more will follow. In this blog post I’ve added two examples that I’ve colored in myself.

Keep an eye on your mailbox

If you’re already subscribed to my mailing list, you can expect my first email again soon. And if you’ve got things you’d like to see in my mailings, just let me know.

Well, this was all I had to tell you for now.

Talk soon!