For me creativity is an essential element in taking care of myself. It allows me to express my vision of beauty. I love making things in part because I can see a form take shape and view its progress from idea to completion. So many things in post modern life have no defined edges.
For example, taking care of my small friend who is 17 months old. Beyond keeping her clean, fed, and warm it’s tough to measure what I do. I could count the times I make her laugh or smile, or I could try to determine what I have taught her that would otherwise have taken longer to learn, but there are no parameters on love or caring.
Another example is this website. Sure it exists, but I can’t touch it, and when I close my netbook it’s gone. Whereas the half knitted sock next to my couch remains. (It makes me feel old fashioned to admit a preference for stuff that can be held and felt, but I suspect it might be a blessing to disconnect from the computer so easily.)
When I knit it’s tangible. I start with yarn and an idea, and I make the yarn into the idea. Progress is easily measured in rows or inches. When I’m done I bind off and weave in the ends, and then I have a beautiful finished item that will keep someone warm. Origami is another of my hobbies, and it’s much the same. I fold the paper into the idea, and when I’ve made my way to the end of the instructions I have a pretty decoration.
I find it essential to my emotional wellbeing to finish these kinds of projects. Creativity releases emotions, but more than that I get to feel a sense of completion. My new years resolutions are pretty standard: get fit, meditate more often, wake up early each day to start my day well, and heal my knee. All except the last have no end (they do have more parameters than mentioned here though). How will I ever feel a sense of accomplishment without a conclusion? I can set mile stones, but I need a tangible creative outlet to feel fulfilled.
What do you do when you need the feeling of having completed something?
Blogger’s Note: Thank you for your patience over this last month. I got engaged in early December, and between wedding planning and the holidays my blog got pushed aside for a while. I’m happy to report that things are back on track, and you can expect regular Thursday posts once again.
