Why I Have To Create
Whether I’m working out a plot twist in a screenplay or deciding on a stitch pattern for a crochet piece, it’s all about escaping from the real world. Yes, that’s why I do it … escapism. When I’m creating, I want to be in the zone, focused on the task on hand, and blocking out every bit of reality that has me stressed out.
Business collapsing? Knitting time. Bank account empty? Write some fiction. Job search coming up empty? Crochet some lace embellished with pearls.
I had all but abandoned my creativity the last couple of years. Starting a business and earning a living took priority. If I wasn’t working on the business, I was thinking about the business day and night. It was draining. Worse than draining, actually, because I was in a constant state of panic. It was no way to run a business and certainly no way to live a life. I’ve proven to myself that if I don’t take time to zone out and create something, I’ll wind up a basket case whimpering in the corner, accomplishing nothing of worth.
Yarn and words are my materials of choice. Sometimes thread and stitching on a piece of embroidery, or picking up the camera to capture a macro shot will do the trick. Choosing fonts and backgrounds for a blog or website creates my own little moment of bliss, too. Whatever the medium, creating is my form of meditation. It clears my mind, takes me out that hyper-panic mode and returns my mind to a better balance.
My eshop is still dead, my bank account still teetering, but my head is back on straight … well, as straight as it can ever be.
I know what you mean about empty bank account. I had a child graduate $$ flew out the door all last year on Senior things. I have a child graduating this year and Senior pictures are in one week. I am a traveling phelebotomist. I go into nursing hopes in the night and draw blood. My nerves are raw! So, I stitch! Stitching is a great past-time that someone had thought up! Lyn G