Craft-Fulness: Mend Yourself By Making Things

Craft-Fulness: Mend Yourself By Making Things by Rosemary Davidson and Arzu Tahsin        Audio book:  4 hrs, 30 min       Hardback Book: 208 pages           

I liked this book.   I’m reading a lot of books on positive psychology lately, and this one goes hand in hand with that school of thought.   For years psychologists have studied what makes people sad, but, these ladies along with other writers you will be hearing about as soon as I get their blogs done,   are now studying how being happy not only is about lifting one’s spirits but also about lifting one’s general attitude about their work – happy people are more productive – they love their jobs and are willing to put in extra time on them just because they like doing what they do, homelife is ever so much better when people are happy – they go home happy and excited to be with their spouses,kids,parents/siblings, pets, friends/roommates and are far more fun in their interactions.    Ms. Davidson and Ms. Tahsin have observed how soothing it is for the brain to do crafts.  Whether it is knitting, crocheting, painting, writing, making pottery, whatever your fancy is, it relaxes one so much to follow that passion for creating something new that stress, anxiety, anger, pretty much all negativity melts when you lose yourself in creativity and crafting something.    It has been proven that regardless of which side of your brain you are using your special skill(s) to complete your vision, be it wood working or furniture making with lots of mathematical measurements (left brain) or whether you are recalling people and places from your past to give new life as different characters in the mystery novel you are writing (right brain), that sector of your brain will grow larger.    This book dispels the myth that older people cannot learn new things.   As long s there is breath in your body you can always learn a new thing.    The book discusses therapies going on with Alzheimer patients, teaching them to make music, draw, do collages of cut-outs from magazines, to enjoy the feel of clay as they form it in their hands into whatever lovely thing they want to or to enjoy the feel of the earth in nurturing plants, and the joy that is evident from the satisfaction on their faces.  Veterans suffering from PTSD (Post  Trauma Stress Disorder) who find making crafts calming to the anxiety they can get away from for a while as they let their imaginations run free and work through tragic memories that hound them unmercifully, yet, leave them stress-free while they are committed to weaving or other hands-on projects they immerse themselves in as they get in touch with their deeper selves on a lighter mental plane where happiness and joy replace harsh triggers setting them off.    Exercising self-expression is a balm to the soul and has been found ever so often to be a better medicine for healing than pharmaceuticals could ever be.    It is a precious release for those diagnosed with mental issues to work through what is plaguing them to find release to soar above what binds them to express the good and the bad and put the hurt outside of themselves where they can see it and deal with the now tangible problem in order to begin dealing with it and releasing its hold on them.     Introverts who often feel invisible to society because they aren’t of a boisterous turn overtly expressing themselves can find expression of who they are by following their preferred muse.    This book is about crafts and crafting but also about the release of one’s spirit in thinking outside the box and running with the play and the fun of the enjoyment of doing something wonderful that is all theirs like a sacred gift they give to themselves and then share with the world.    The book starts off a little slow at first  but then like floating through water drifting along on your back lightly using your hands to manipulate your way to other places  you find you are carried away to another plateau entirely where your thoughts can drift freely.   This is obviously not just a crafting book but a journey into the mindfulness and neuroscience of all the peaceful serenity crafting can bring you.   They liken crafting to meditation and I can see the connection.   Good book, give it a chance, it gets better after that slow start and it has a lot of wisdom to share.  

 - Shirley J