Are You Paying Attention?

Doodling is my favorite pastime. My whole family doodles. The kids doodle. My friends doodle. We play silly doodle games whenever we get together.

What is doodling exactly? It's a form of shorthand drawing, scribbling, if you prefer.

Doodling is a very creative outlet for emotional expression. It releases inhibition and diminishes the fear of inadequacy. People doodle when they are trying to connect to their unconscious minds, to birth an idea, or solve a problem. Sooner or later, the idea will reveal itself in a doodle, and the specific problem will be resolved.

Doodling is one trick that works for writers and graphic artists with writer's block, or designer's block. I imagine musicians doodle on the piano. It's the same basic idea, just using piano keys instead of a pen.

Drawing is a natural inclination in most people. And it doesn't really have anything to do with the degree of artistic talent a person has. This kind of drawing is a form of communication we have with ourselves. It's a way of working things out in a very healthy fashion. It's just the opposite of an idle pastime.

Doodling has gotten an undeserved bad rap.

Sometimes we doodle when we are bored. Did you doodle in school? Can't begin to enumerate the times I was sent to the principal's office for doodling during class.

Doodling in school was considered to be rude to the teacher and inattentive to the lesson being taught.

According to psychologists today, people who doodle during a class, meeting, or lecture, for instance, retain more of the material than people who just sit there. Doodling occupies the "monkey-brain" leaving the other part of the brain free to imprint the data.

My teachers were not successful in discouraging me from doodling. It's a habit that followed me through college and proved to be a valuable aid in my learning. By looking at my doodles, I could remember exactly what the professor said.

Doodling is a good way to develop powers of observation and build your visual vocabulary. What a brilliant way to tap into a deep reserve of ideas that are visual.

Doodling can be an art form. Even Google shows doodlers some love. Take a look at Google Doodle, for instance. Even Apple respects doodlers. There are doodle Apps for the iPad.

If you have a good sense of humor, and like to doodle, you can make a doodle website.

Do you have long winded friends who keep you on the phone for-ev-er? You can always doodle while you're listening to them.

Eventually, your doodles will get more and more involved and become complete drawings.

Public figures are always being scrutinized for their doodles. When Tony Blair was British Prime Minister at #10 Downing Street, his doodles and handwriting were analyzed. The analyst concluded that Blair was struggling to concentrate and that he was not a natural leader. It was later revealed that the analyst mistakenly got a hold of Bill Gates doodles. Bill Gates was visiting #10 at the time. So much for that!

Historians scrutinized John F. Kennedy's doodles. There was something very bizarre in his doodles. On one page he had written "9/11" with a circle around it. In the corner of that same page was written the word "conspiracy", underlined. What possible explanation can there be for that? Guess we'll never know.

So doodles serve as a record of events, even how you felt at the time. They are like a journal, and not for others to look at, unless you permit it.

Doodlers are in good company. Presidents, business moguls, scientists, public speakers, designers, writers, etc, all doodle.

Remember, it doesn't matter if you think you can draw or not.

What is doodling? It is the direct link to your inner-most thoughts expressed in visual terms. And more than that, it's darn fun.