Scratch Papers & Humility

I've been fond of drawing on the backs of used printed papers & coffee shop tissue papers for as long as I can remember. There's always something about cheap, dirty paper that gets me in the mood to go grab a pen and doodle something on it, anything. and I usually draw so much better on scratch papers than on special, expensive ones. I've been trying to figure out why I like doing it for some time now, and while I was drawing on a strip of tissue paper at Starbucks today, I think I finally found out why.

Scratch papers are worthless.

It has no value, no significance, nothing special about it. just plain, humble, ordinary paper, and I think that's what makes it so much easier to draw on them. No pressure! You know that when you draw on it, it's gonna look better than when you found it cause you're starting from zero. You don't expect anything, you just let out what you want to let out. You don't think about making sure your drawing looks pretty cause it might be a waste of paper if it doesn't come out right, and you also don't think about how much you spent on it. You just draw.

Paper, after all, is just a means for the art to happen.

I think it's very similar to how people see themselves. Having big egos are like drawing on expensive paper, there's too much drama that goes along with the process when it's there. It's like unnecessary pressure on your back.


The more humility you have, the more opportunities you give yourself to grow, and learn, and be used for something far greater than what you'd ever expect of yourself to be.