At 21, I was a recent graduate with seemingly no direction for the future and no outlet for my many innocuous but slightly expensive hobbies: sewing, singing in choirs, painting in my free time.
It takes money to enjoy what I love, and so I found myself quitting one activity after another during a fruitless job search. The more hobbies I quit, however, the farther away a happy life appeared.
At 24, I am in a stable place, and am slowly rediscovering the joy that comes with lighting my creative spark and seeing it before me; in a painting, in a song, or in some new, undiscovered way.
A new way come to me over this past weekend’s visit to my mom’s, where I inherited a nice stash of new yarn and knitting needles.
I added these to my pile of knitting and crochet needles I had picked up during college….
…..which actually joined a pile of needles and yarn I inherited in 2005 from my deceased grandma.
As it turns out, I possess a giant stash of crocheting and knitting materials. It was time to relearn how to crochet!
I managed to crochet 16 inches of a scarf during the car ride back home, and discovered something new about myself. My mind was calm, my hands were busy, and I could speak clearer and without my usual regular state of low anxiety.
Have you ever encountered yourself picking up a new skill that just seems to heal you?
