Celebrate the mystery

Machines can’t crochet. A client taught me that. Looping my chain on-line, sleuthing taught me that no one can build a machine which can pattern and manipulate needles with the complexity of the weaves our hands stitch. There is a contraption shamelessly dubbed a crochet machine, but, in fact, its talent is “warp knitting.” Celebrate the mystery of our creativity. For those of you who do crochet, celebrate that you’ll make mistakes. You’re not mechanical. Let yourself relax in the textures and colors of the yarn, the distinctive sounds of the needles. Same for any craft: don’t worry if you haven’t got a brayer for decoupage, spread the glue with your fingers; laugh when your realize your bead count is lopsided on that necklace, three of the right color on one side, two on the other; don’t color it over when your watercolor cloud is more gray than white. Just let the inspiration out. It enhances our health: “The Connection Between Art, Healing, and Public Health: A Review of Current Literature” a 2010 meta-analysis by Heather L. Stuckey, DEd and Jeremy Nobel, MD, MPH confirms the idea and urges that scientists look even further into the “hows” and “whys.” Just indulge. Turn your pots and pans into drums if you have nothing else. Start jotting poems on recycled junk mail. Everyone can find a way.