Finding a Hobby
I have the attention span of the tiniest of fleas right now. A million thoughts are jostling for my attention at any given moment. Did I take the meat out of the freezer for dinner? What day is it? How am I going to figure out my move back home? When are we leaving here? Should I go to the store? What’s New York going to be like? Where’s my blanket?
When it gets overwhelming, I get up and move. I strength train, do yoga, or take a walk. And usually that does the trick. But I am finding that there are still long stretches of time, which I think of as the “in-between times,” when I am neither working nor exercising, nor cooking, nor cleaning. During these times, if I am left to my own aimless devices, I begin to despair. Sitting in stillness with that despair is one option. I know the feeling will pass — it always does. But it is risky. Sitting still with despair’s heaviness can overwhelm me as much as those pinball-machine thoughts. And honestly, as we close in on two months of pandemic life, I sometimes need a break from sitting in stillness with my despair.
So I took up a new hobby: pottery! Since childhood I have always turned to making crafts when I am feeling restless. I was inspired to try pottery by a few friends who have gotten into pottery in the past year or so. I told myself I would take lessons when I had time. Well, I certainly have time now, and although I don’t belong to a…
