Therapy in the clay

 

Sometimes hours pass by as we become immersed in activities that we love. Our anxieties and worries are not with us during these moments.
Sometimes hours pass by as we become immersed in activities that we love. Our anxieties and worries are not with us during these moments.

It is remarkable how so many people work hard each week but waste precious opportunities to become engaged in the activities that they really love. Many of us are like passengers on a journey and spend most of our days just doing things that we feel we are meant to be doing. We become absorbed by our jobs. We obsess ourselves about being the best possible parent, brother, sister, son or daughter and dedicate ourselves to these roles. It’s not that we should turn our backs on our responsibilities. But I’ve met a lot of people who have got lost in the fog of life. They can no longer find themselves in the maze of duties, roles and responsibilities. Many people openly admit that they haven’t got time to think. Their heads are spinning. They are rushing to do the next thing or trying to remember what they have forgotten to do.

We become absorbed by our jobs. We obsess ourselves about being the best possible parent, brother, sister, son or daughter and dedicate ourselves to these roles. 

Children experience more flow than adults. Their wide imaginations help
Children experience more flow than adults. Their wide imaginations help

So many people surrender their hobbies to a lifestyle that allows for little or no real leisure. We waste a lot of time watching poor quality television or staring aimlessly into the screens of gadgets. Flow is a mental state when we are fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, experiencing optimum enjoyment from tasks that stretch and engage us.  We lose consciousness of ourselves, others and the world.  Research indicates that happy people have lots of flow in their lives. While in flow we lose a sense of time as we become stretched in meaningful and fulfilling activity. An example of this would be like when reading a book and all of a suddenly the darkness draws upon us.

We are entitled to do things that we love doing!
We are entitled to do things that we love doing!

 

Too many artists have stopped painting. Too many musicians have their instruments in the attic. Too many gardeners have let their prized garden become a ruin. This week presents an opportunity to you to engage yourself in something that truly satisfies you and takes you away from the worries and stresses of everyday life. Theatre tickets, some good music, visiting friends, a good movie!! Sadly, research has shown that people have more ‘flow’ in work than at home. Work can stretch us as we try to conclude a deal or complete a database. But the best flow comes from doing the things that we love most. I’ll always remember the old man in the cottage. He asked me about my work and wondered whether or not I had a job like Dr. Phll. Then he exclaimed – ‘I’ll tell you where I get my therapy, son – down in the clay of that garden. I lose days in my garden.’  Indeed, his gardening has probably proven to be more therapeutic than he realises.

Research indicates that happy people have lots of flow in their lives.

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