Divya Marie Kato - When In Doubt, Draw - Getting The World Drawing

Reaching, climbing, slipping, stretching. Grateful for branches, for support.

The beautiful tension of opposites: balance and navigation, place and path, skill and mastery, deep aha over quick tada, clarity and clearing forward, community and extending a hand.

Thank you 2015. Welcome 2016.

A loving and peaceful year to you and yours.

Hello everyone,

First post of 2016 and I have some incredibly good news:

“February is the new January”

Sarah Furuya, Friend, Partner, Coach, Clever Rebels & Curious Corporates

Hooray!

“So this is Christmas…
No, no, no…
So this is February…
And what have we done?”

Feeling a little of this? Or am I speaking to the coolest of cucumbers?

Calm and collected or feeling the push; a little offering from me to you. A video, a drawing, an excerpt from my book, ‘When in doubt, draw’, a few of my favorite things and new services to look forward to in 2016.

Getting To Know You

For those of you who don’t know me, hello and welcome.

Made my first video last year, you can check it out here or by clicking on the smiley youtube pic on the left. Meet the team and find out the why behind the book.

This year, I’m excited about partnering with FEW (For Empowering Women in Japan). As a previous speaker and member, I’m happy to be welcomed back this year and proud to contribute to a community that focuses on the empowerment of women. I’ll be offering discounts and 2 workshops to FEW this year. Check out their website here to find out more. It’s an incredible group. I love the meetings, presentations and conversations. My coach, tax accountant and lawyer are all here too!

SO much has changed since the first FEW meeting I stepped into. It was 2012. I had just left full time employment.

A few of my favorite things.

Then to now.

Always say thank you.

To people. To experiences. To another year spent on the planet.

It’ll leave you wide open to receive.

I said thank you to 2015 with a film opening party.
Films I had made about drawing. For the first time.
Tears of thanks as I sat down to write my speech.

All the stories.
All the stepping stones.

“I’ve been climbing my own mountain this year.
If my choices so far have been getting closer to the mountain,
My choices in 2015 have been climbing it.
Slowly.
One foot in front of the other.
The mountain of becoming a professional”

We’re all climbing mountains. Big. Small. Close. Far.
Give thanks for all of it. Treasure each step. Flowers for each half step.

Take a bath with the questions. Let them soak into your skin.

There’s no manual. We’re led by the questions.

Calling. Curiosity.

Fall. Feel. Follow.
Reflection on my selection:

Art School, Drawing & Beginnings. “Art or Craft?”

Japan, Dragons & Belonging. “What helps you feel at home?”

Breakdown & Breakthrough. “How do you find your tribe, your purpose, your definition of success?”

Back to the Drawing Board. “What experiences have had the biggest influence on you and how you choose to live?”

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by”

Robert Frost

Who knows where the questions will lead you? No guarantees. No mistakes. All learning. Explorers are we.

“Who knew?”

More words of my friend and partner Sarah.

Who knew that you would be exactly where you are now?

In those exact same shoes. With that key, to that door, in your pocket. With that memory, of that time, in your head.

Make Like A Rolling Stone.
(Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n’ Roll Optional)

In our last FEW meeting with the author Leza Lowitz, Sun & Moon Yoga, we listened to her share her story of adoption, yoga and finding home. Here. There. Then back again. So. Much. Change. She then took us all on a journey. On the magic carpet of mindfulness. I don’t know where you went (I’d love to know! Please tell me when next we meet) I went to a few places. And heard Bowie. More on this later.

“Ch-ch-ch…changes”

David Bowie

R.I.P. Wonderful Human

I zipped through space and memories and things to come.
Choices. Changes. Fads. Phases.
Evolutions. Revolutions.
Things that unfold magically. Things that shatter spectacularly.
The best laid plans.

Bowie’s changes were outstanding.
So are the ways trees change throughout the year.
Shaken bare.
Bursting bloom.

There’s going to be change.
Make them fabulous.
Make them fun.
Make them.

“And you may ask yourself… how did I get here?”

Talking Heads

When in doubt, draw
(Nope, not biased at all)

There was a swelling in my chest when the new year started.
The excitement.
The visitors.
The parties.
Unplugging.
Merriment.
Mama over to stay.
So much food and love and wine and wonderful.
I was full.
Full to brimming.
And sensitive all over.

So I did what I always do. I sat down to draw.

Drawing to digest it all.

Drawing to process the world. The wild ride of human experience.

Our special events director, Helen Lewis, friend and fellow writer, likened this to breathing.
Experiences.
Every moment. Every day.
In. Out.
Drawing: Reflecting (in) Expressing (out)

Here’s what I drew. And here’s what I discovered. A chapter for my book. A word for the year.

For the excerpt and full write up, including details on my new service: Heirloom Drawings click here or on the drawing

Services to look forward to in 2016

Online Drawing Course: Videos, Exercises plus a 1 hour 1-1 Skype coaching session with me

Drawing Classes/Creativity Coaching Sessions: Now available as a 3 month, 90 minute package

Excerpts from my book, ‘When in doubt, draw’

Discounts on services for members of FEW (For Empowering Women in Japan), TMG (Tokyo Mothers Group) and for Students and Sponsorships

New Service: Heirloom Drawings – Commissions dedicated to Heirlooms with Incredible Stories

If you’re unsure and looking for a way to:

Find A Way Forward
Release Stress
Discover Something New About Yourself
Make A Change
Integrate Creativity Into Every Day Life
Get Unstuck
Express Yourself
Reflect & Process Experiences
Spark New Ideas
Nurture Community & Collaboration