How will we celebrate Women’s Day? Will we click like on a few posts of inspiring quotes on social media? Will we read empowering articles about women who rock our world? Are we getting together with some of our female friends to toast on our achievements?

How about we take a moment to honor ourselves in a quiet activity like coloring? Here is a gift to invite Elephant journal readers to do just that!

I am a full-time artist whose paintings mostly represent strong feminine images that invite women to embrace and reconnect with who they are in the full scope of their power and capacities. For Women’s Day, I created a black and white outline version of my painting She Flourishes – a coloring page that you can download and print for free right now!

Being a woman has not been easy for me. I grew up in a conservative Catholic family where my father’s authority overshadowed my mother, my sisters, and myself. It took me years to trust my thoughts, my ideas, my voice and to feel confident in my body. The women in my paintings have acted as a wise elder guiding me toward my full potential.

I see female friends, colleagues, and clients all around me struggling to find their place in the world.

Many Western world women have had their revolution and attained equitable social status that was overdue. There is still a lot of work to be done when we see the actual facts and statistics. Too many women still suffer from structural prejudice and many other issues especially indigenous women, black women, trans women, and we can’t ignore how our reproductive rights are always in grave danger. For those of us who are fortunate to feel like we’ve won some battles, we still continue to be victims of our poorly conditioned states of mind. We have all been profoundly affected by years of dominance of the masculine over the feminine. This history is encoded in everyone’s DNA, this insidiously contributes to the injustices and the glass ceilings.

The flourishing woman in my painting shows us the way beyond the imposed limitations.

The line version of this painting can be easily downloaded on a computer with a right-click and printed on regular paper. The best is to have a box of colored pencils, but if that is not available, pens, markers or highlighters will work just fine. No matter what tools are around the house this will surely be a soothing, inspiring moment to honor the feminine within.

The benefits of coloring will be immediately felt:

• It creates a state of relaxation
• It helps with focus
• It quiets your mind
• It brings about a moment of reflection
• It can foster new ideas

Coloring the flourishing woman will also help to connect with our natural inner strength.

Feminine qualities of intuition, compassion, inclusivity, and interconnectedness are embedded into this image, and coloring it will assist in developing all these aspects in our being.

Because of our long history with patriarchy and its grip on women’s psyche, it still can be difficult to stand tall and flourish in our full capacity. Hands-on creative activities are particularly useful for rewiring neurons and promoting positive change.

Dr. Karyn Purvis shares this observation: Scientists have determined that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain – unless it is done by play, in which case it takes between 10 and 20 repetitions. Coloring is play that is accessible to all. Before setting up for coloring the Flourishing Woman, an intention can be set to encourage the formation of new pathways. There is no need to have artistic experience or inclination, only the interest to try it out and, even better, the openness to grow and flourish!

The woman in this image is open-hearted with firm roots. She emanates a myriad of colors which are all the facets of her talents and beauty. She transmits the power that arises when strength, softness, and authenticity are the ground for expression.

There are so many ways we can nourish our feminine power. When we take time for ourselves, we are giving back to the world, we reinforce our capacity to change individually, and we add to the collective vision of a just world. One positive practice at a time, one Women’s Day after the other, we can trust that we are moving toward a healthier humanity.