Make something with your hands ... You'll be happier!
I’m currently in the process of crocheting this afghan!!! Pattern available at annieskitclubs.com
I started learning to crochet last year. (And I’m halfway through making this afghan!)
The first month I just practiced basic stitches, over and over again, until I could stitch evenly and consistently. It was frustrating; my hands didn’t know how to hold the yarn or the crochet hook, and my fingers could not manipulate the yarn and hook to make the stitches look like the pictures in my pattern. But, over time, with patience and persistence, I got the hang of it. The task is absorbing. You have to concentrate. And the time flew by.
As the project progresses, I look at the collective beauty of all of my beautiful, even stitches marching along in rows and stripes, and cannot believe that I have made this blanket. I imagine, in a few more months, and for years to come, curling up under it with a book, a cup of coffee, and Banjo. Or, I imagine my husband or my sister tucked under its cozy warmth.
And, I know I’m not alone …
Did you know that making things with your hands is correlated with reduced depression and anxiety, and improved emotional wellbeing?
It’s true. Here’s why:
You can find your flow.
Flow is a mindful state in which you are fully engaged and sufficiently challenged. You’re completely immersed, and will likely lose track of time, although you’ll also likely feel like time has slowed down. Think of being “in the zone.” Being in a flow state is enjoyable. It’s enjoyable while you’re in it … and those benefits last beyond the experience, to increase overall emotional wellbeing as well.
Success and failure is clearly defined.
Because it’s tangible and concrete, you can see if you did something right or not. You have the opportunity to be proud of yourself and build confidence when succeed. And when you fail, you’ll have the opportunity to build resilience to navigate and correct your mistake, or to scrap your efforts and start again! We benefit immensely from failure; move toward being uncomfortable and give yourself the chance to screw up!
There is a tangible, concrete result at the end of your work which is immensely satisfying.
We buy most of our goods today, rather than make them. We no longer grow our food, and many people don’t even know where our food comes from. We can no longer tinker with, or fix or repair, our own cars or appliances. We live in a world where a virtual, online world is increasingly believed to be reality. Making something yourself, with your own hands, in the context of the world we live in can be incredibly satisfying and also confidence building.
Eat the bread you bake. Curl up under the blanket you crocheted. Make a salad with greens and vegetables you’ve grown. Hold in your hands and admire the bowl you made on a pottery wheel.
The tangible nature of these accomplishments is going extinct, and we’re not better for it. We need the direct confrontation with the material world to help us make meaning of our lives.
You’re likely making something useful.
Our purpose is to be of use, as espoused by Dr. Wilbur Larch in John Irving’s ‘The Cider House Rules.’ And, as Marge Piercy, concludes in her poem, ‘To Be Of Use:’ “The pitcher cries for water to carry and a person for work that is real.”
If you find these ideas to be true for you, I’d be curious to hear if your experience resonates with mine. And, if you are not making things with your hands, please explore it … but a warning, you may find yourself happier as a result!
If you liked this newsletter installment, you might also like my prior blog post, Sourdough Therapy: 7 Mental Health Lessons to be Learned from Baking Bread.
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