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It Is What It Is—Or Is It?

by elinap | Sep 14, 2026

Doodle Notes

Mira(cle)Doodles by elinap

Doodle Notes

“True wisdom is being able to say: ‘it is what it is’, with a smile of celebratory wonder on your face.”

Eric Micha’el Leventhale

This quote inspired me to doodle this one above, back in 2015. I was happy to step back and be the observer.

On my next doodle for the same quote, I was even happier to sit back and let the movie run while munching on some pop corn. I drew the one below for my book MIRA 2 - Astonishing Moments & Turning Points.

Illustration from MIRA 2 - Astonishing Moments & Turning Points

But…

When I read Tara Brach’s book The Radical Acceptance, over the summer, I realized that it doesn’t end here!

Brach writes:

“The Buddha taught that holding on to anything, including a sense of being the observer, obscures the full freedom of awareness.”

I threw away the pop corn and turned around.

Mira(cle)Doodles by elinap

Wait, what?! WHO is behind the movie projector?

Settling with “it is what it is” as an observer and reaching deeper within to “see the universe as it is” now appear to mean something totally different—but maybe it is the same and I just figured out another layer of the whole...

Life’s a wonderful mystery.

..And, I guess, the ultimate answer is Love anyway!

My Inspiration & Delight

My crocheting has been on repeat for awhile… I don’t seem to get enough of these now familiar patterns! It truly is my meditation.

Here’s another Darjeeling tea shawl that I’ve crocheted over the summer.

Crocheting by elinap

The merino yarn I used is again from Lankaleipomo (Yarn Bakery) in this color (4-ply, 1000 m + some more of the last color due to the changes I made to the pattern for the last rounds).

The pattern for the Darjeeling tea shawl pattern can be found from Etsy.

Artist, Illustrator, Author & Life Coach. Turning struggles into loving laughter with her illustrations. Creator of Mira(cle)Doodles.

Enjoy more doodles also on Substack

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