BLOG 7: Do butterflies participate in co-occupation?

This week I was able to start a painting but have not quite finished it yet, so I will share a picture next week when it is complete. I have found that I am more likely to fully engage in my occupation when I feel calm. I have quite the to-do list forming this week, which has brought about opposite feelings of calm. I did include a picture of the painting that I did with my friend Kierra to go along with the theme of co-occupation.

Painting is not a co-occupation for me currently. Not a single component of shared physicality, emotionality, or intentionality exists when I do it on my own. However, it has potential to be a co-occupation if I were to paint with someone else. A few years ago, I got together with my good friend Kierra and we did a paint night at her house. I would consider this specific time to represent co-occupation because it included aspects of shared physicality, emotionality, and intentionality. Kierra and I physically interacted with one another by sitting down together to paint. In addition, we passed different paint colors and brushes back and forth to each other so that we could both create the pieces we had in mind. Shared emotionality was an active component during this paint night because we talked about what was currently going on in our lives which included both experiences and emotions. Shared intentionality was present during this time because Kierra and I both had the same goal in mind, to create a painting while spending time together. This paint night ended up being both enjoyable and memorable for Kierra and I. We even exchanged paintings at the end of the night as a gift to each other. I have not painted with anyone else since this specific time, but reflecting back on the experience has made me appreciate the benefits of co-occupation.