Colouring in the lines

‘Hey, wanna colour with me?’

The colouring book flops open to an untouched jolly Santa.

The page currently only contains two colours, black and white, but not for long you say to yourself.

The kid pushes the box of crayons towards you but doesn’t wait for you to pick one, they’ve already picked up their favourite and have launched into their Rudolph picture.

You take a moment to compose yourself.

You have an important decision to make.

Do I want to have fun or do I want to be ‘good’?

And if ‘good’, what kind of ‘good’?

Alternative, innovative and exploring unknown territories ‘good’? Or flawless realistic ‘good’?

To colour in the lines or not to colour in the lines, that is the question!

Maybe I go for an inverse Santa? White in all the red places and red in all the white places!

Hmm will that look weird though?

The lines just sit there, taunting you, subtly inviting you into a perfectionism trap.

The kid is powering through their picture. They’re almost finished and your jolly Santa remains untouched.