Hands on

Finally—it’s not about food.  Though  I’m writing this after spending the day in the kitchen baking ten loaves of pumpkin bread.

I used to be mystified when I’d hear people claim that baking or cooking is how they “relax.”    Were they kidding?    All I got out of today—-if you don’t count the calories—was what I always get from cooking—-a sink full of dirty dishes and a bad back.

Cooking doesn’t do it for me.   It took me more than forty years to figure out what does.

When the going gets tough, I head for the art studio.   For me, mosaics are meditation and therapy; passion and peace.    It’s the feeling of losing yourself doing something you love, something that absorbs your focus and puts you into a  state of being, where  all your worries can float away.    Time and place are altered;  you are nowhere and everywhere;  time is only now.  You’re in the flow.

Whether you find a mental escape by gardening or guitar —- weaving or woodworking…. these activities are connected with a common thread—they require focus while working with your hands.   As if occupying the hands forces you to clear the thoughts that occupy your mind.

I’m always curious to hear what works about working with your hands.   If you have something in your life, you’re lucky.  If you don’t,  I hope you’ll keep looking.

Though I never feel lucky that I had cancer, I do feel lucky that cancer helped me discover a cure…..for my soul.