The soothing nature of making
The following NZ flax basket weaving post (https://www.facebook.com/weavingwithveranoahetet/videos/172102280716434/UzpfSTEwMDAzNzA4NTk3Nzk3NzoyNDMyMjc5MDM1OTAwNzQ/) came up on my Facebook feed recently and it reminded me of the soothing, almost meditative nature of being immersed in the making of something. For me, weaving something is a time when my hands and feet are engaged in a somewhat repetitive task and that enables my thinking mind to be set free. A long walk does the same thing. When my body is busy, my brain does its best thinking. I come up with exciting ideas for my next creative project, my garden, business ideas and even the next steps in my life. The ideas can be exhilarating and wild. They become starting points to the future; a future filled with exciting possibilities. Not all my ideas make it into real life, but that’s ok because I still enjoy the buzz of new ideas.
And having an activity that inspires hope for the future in the middle of a global pandemic, can be soothing. Like the physical activity of weaving a new basket every day, where each basket is designed to fit around the previous as if it were some sort of kiwi version of Russian nested dolls. Each daily basket is slightly bigger, containing the baskets that have come before. For me that encompassed the hope of every day getting a little better, and that our collective lockdown will achieve the desired results and life will return soon, to some sort of ‘normal’, whatever that looks like in the future.
What is the activity for you, creative or otherwise, that soothes you?
