Take cover, it's a sketchbook storm!

Hey guys!
As I'm sure you've noticed, I've decided to upload my Sketchbook Saturday drawings here to D.A. This is a little activity I've been doing on my Facebook page for a few months now, but I've finally decided to start sending them this way as well! It's a really great exercise to keep me busy and in practice between major projects, and I think gives you guys a little something to munch on in the mean time, as I tend to unintentionally take forever and a half to complete things... x.x
For those who have trouble keeping a sketchbook, I highly recommend doing something like this! It gives you something to feel accountable to; a bit of a schedule. It also seems to take the pressure off of you when you go to draw, makes it feel like its not as big of a deal and your hands are already sort of warmed up (so to speak X3) You'll find your lines become a bit looser and more confident, not as shaky and self-conscious...X3

In other news, things have been extremeley chaotic for me and Erik lately! We arent quite out of the woods just yet, but things are starting to show signs of slowing down. Over and over I make this realization that life will always be this way; a series of peaks and valleys, times of serenity, times of chaos. We are all a bit like clothes tossed in a dryer, tumbling around in a sea of people whose lives are shifting, changing, and tumbling just like our own. The theme of this year for me thus far seems to be one of blooming and connection. I have grown up in something of an isolated safe-haven of a home, with no racket or comings and goings of friends and family, so being on my own has been definitely soemthing of a new journey into the world of...well....people! lol
I have witnessed some of the most awe inspiring gestures of kindness and generosity come from the people around me, and it has been nothing short of beautiful...
We are here to love and help each other, and for the first time ever I find myself able to say, I trust the people around me, I have no fear that if I fall, they won't be there to catch me, and in turn, we must do the same for them.
It's a beautiful system, the most natural system,
and culture begs that we turn a blind eye to it, become independent, locked up in our houses with our guns and our treasures.
I'm not sure I can agree with this anymore...
Perhaps it is a matter of circumstance, but I tell you, I haven't felt this free in a long time...
Just because things are stressful,chaotic, or busy, doesn't mean they have to be painful, doesn't mean you have to suffer until the wave has passed.
Take a deep breath, clear mind, clear spirit,
life is a giant series of choices, one after the other after the other. Make every one a good one, and your life will breed nothing but goodness.

With love,
Silent Shout
Lauren Natvig