Oh my, last weekend has been hectic, and not in a good way, my partner had a rather awful healthcare experience, mostly in terms of “lack of human touch” quality to the care given by some of the overstretched hospital staff rather that the actual health issue itself. As “Pick your craft/Find your Bliss” is exactly what I had written as last week’s article title, life provided me with the inspiration to write the article, even if the experience wasn’t actually that great in itself..
Hence I’m a week later than I wanted to be in getting a post on this this topic written and out to you all. However, as we sat on the ward, rather bored and awaiting the needed medication bag so escape could happen, both of us wished that we had our knitting with us to keep us occupied, rather than just an iPad to stream media on.
The stress of the tedious not knowing what was going on was rather high, and , any craft that was small enough to be portable would have been a good way to engage the limbic brain “in the now”, rather than allowing the Neocortex to loop around in “what if???” circles. This is because watching a TV show is simply a passive activity, rather than an engaging/active one.
I know that knitting isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I do advocate that everyone should have a craft; something creative that can be played in and around with, as often as possible. As well as knitting, I dye yarn and fibre, muck around with watercolour pens and Sharpie(TM) markers (drawing is very much not one of my skills, but I like the “art-sy doodles” I produce), coo and fuss over my orchids (because helping them grow them is definitely an art!) and write, both on my websites and in my journal.
As adults, we generally leave play behind us; it’s seen as childish, a waste of time and something that should no longer be required in the adult world of responsibilities. But this lack of joy through play and creativity is very harmful to us.
Engaging in these craft activities gives me “flow” (“flow” being what psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi describes as “a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation … A state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.”) – moments of mindfulness where all my brain is doing only one thing, leaving me totally wrapped up in “the now” of the creative moment.
I know that finding flow and having my playful craft activities enhances my day-to-day hum drum. Since I’ve been crafting more, I’ve become generally happier, more able to concentrate, both at home and at work and I find it easier to resolve problems and issues because my attitude is more relaxed and playful about “things”.
So, I want to challenge you to find your bliss as well. What type of craft do you to already that you could find time to enjoy more? Or, is there a playful activity that you’d really like to try? Take action to find that bliss, and then leave me a comment below about it, so we can start working on connecting those dots.
Catch you next week!
Image used, Craft Room by chrissy.farnan
Used Under Creative commons licence: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
and ideas on spiritual advancement and mindset change
Being "Selfish" - Showing up in the moment brings full commitment.
Growing things brings peace and thoughtfulness.
Eating well nourishes the body.
Being creating nourishes the mind.
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
