It’s easy to be frustrated with stay-at-home orders. It’s boring looking at the same walls every day. The same appliances, views out the window, and people (if you don’t live alone) looking back at you.
This isn’t about health statistics and the politics of encouraging people to put their lives in danger. You want to stay healthy, and you want your family to stay that way too.
So how do you do that without losing your goddamn mind?
Search the internet or social media and you will find a bajillion suggestions for how to combat boredom and ennui while staying inside and away from others. Everyone is ready to tell you what to do to get through.
I am not here to tell you what to do. I’m just sharing what worked for me.
Crafts
I happen to be into sewing. I find it rewarding to mend things and alter clothing to suit me. But I am also lazy most of the time and don’t actually get these projects done.
Stress in these recent months has made it difficult to concentrate and focus on the things I need to get done. My mind wanders. I don’t want to work or look for work.
Working with my hands on a project first thing in the morning has helped with that.
Now I start most days with some kind of mending, alteration, or other sewing project. That shirt from the top photo? This is what it looks like now:
It took me two days to get it all done, but it was very satisfying. Having something concrete to do with my hands where progress is something I can see and take pride in makes all the difference.
And it doesn’t have to go perfectly. I messed up that shirt and had to go back and fix it. Sometimes the projects don’t go exactly as we’d like. They’re not perfect.
Perfection is not required.
It’s not the outcome that matters as much as the doing. Give your brain something right in front of you to focus on. The world is a big place, and the problems seem insurmountable from your living room.
But for right now, the world is that tear in your favorite sweater. The hole in your jeans. That shirt that needs the neckline taken up a little. The stain on your blouse that you can cover with a strategic decorative patch.
Maybe you don’t sew. Crafting is just doing something with your hands to make something useful. It could be crocheting, knitting, pottery, weaving, or making journals. Build a dollhouse out of cardboard or repurpose some old containers into planters.
Why does it have to be useful, you ask? It doesn’t have to be. You can also just make art.
Art
Art is creating something that expresses something. Creating something for the sake of it existing in the world. Creating something because you feel the urge to create it.
Art is what you make it.
Crafts can be art. So is music, song, painting, paper mache, origami, mixed-media, drawing, dance, object manipulation, and whatever else you feel called to do with whatever materials you have to hand.
Creativity is part of what makes art something compelling. But even if you are following a pattern for cross-stitch or a paint-by-number, you are still making art. Using a computer? Art.
Express your joy, sadness, frustration, relief, and exhaustion in a way that moves it from your brain, heart, and body out through your hands (or other parts of your body) and into the world.
And let me tell you a secret.
Art can’t be bad.
You may lack skill in the particular thing you are trying to do to create art. We all know that feeling. Even the most talented people in the world were awful once. You get better at the skill by doing it.
But your art is its own world. It doesn’t have to move anyone else. It doesn’t have to serve some higher purpose. Art can be just for you, just for the moment that you bring it to life.
The last suggestion for making something is more about letting the thing make itself.
Gardening
But no, you cry, I have a black thumb!
That’s totally okay. Gardening doesn’t have to be a huge investment. If you have a sunny windowsill, you can grow something. Even if you don’t, many indoor plants can live with limited natural light. A few don’t need any (search for office plants).
You don’t need fancy pots, expensive potting soil, piles of seeds, or confusing supplements. For the most basic gardening, just provide the basics and get out of the way.
Watching seeds pop up or a celery-end come to life can be magical. Life is happening before your eyes.
Your choices can determine whether you are likely to be successful or not. If you are an experienced gardener, then you can go for plants that are more difficult to grow. If not, try something easy.
Radishes are super easy to grow. And you can eat them. They start to grow in about a week and are ready to harvest in less than a month.
If you have children, a windowsill garden can be a magical way to pass the time. Each morning is an opportunity to see what has changed overnight. A container, soil, light, water, and drainage are all you need to get started.
But what if it dies? That’s okay too. Seeds don’t germinate. You overwatered or underwatered. The dog knocked your pot off the windowsill, and the plant never recovered. It happens.
Just start again. Life is a cycle. You can learn from every setback and try different things next time. Failure is a learning opportunity, but what you learn from it is up to you.
Plus, getting your hands dirty is fun. Researching seeds can be an interesting project. Being creative in sourcing materials is rewarding. Growing your own food, even if just enough for a garnish, is empowering.
Our brains are overwhelmed. Sometimes you need a break to recharge. It’s hard to work at a high level when you are so mentally drained.
That level of stress manifests in your body also. We’re tired and achy. Maybe you have headaches or your stomach is upset. Lack of appetite and energy to get even the basic chores done is common.
It’s okay. You’re human.
Making something that is just because you feel something, because you want to, is a way to cope.
You can do this.
