Sunday letter..rug hooking offers focus in age of distraction
Hello,
This morning I googled the "age of distraction" and several books, talks and videos comes up. It seems we all know that we are living in a time when we are highly distractable.
Remember a few months ago I told you about my irritating habit of checking my email constantly. I checked it practically every time I saw my phone. It was a way of stepping out of the moment. It was a way of avoidance perhaps, though I am not sure what I was avoiding. Was it avoidance of being alone with myself for a minute or two with nothing to do? Was it avoidance of really listening to others?
Through the jigs and the reels of the last few months I have gotten into a healthier habit of checking my email and answering it 3 or 4 times a day. The thing that I have noticed is that I am much less distracted. And so now I much more aware of what is happening when I do get distracted.
Distraction, however we experience it, transports you from one place to another.
Sometimes we need this and set out to deliberately find it for ourselves. Some distractions are good ones, a friend texts you for a walk or your sister drops in. These are worth it. This for me is the good kind of distraction.
Other times it just pops up in front of us and takes us away from the thing we should or even want to be doing. When this happens to me I find that I sometimes cannot even remember what I was about to do.
Even with my new email rules I remain distractible. Because I made that change I have become more aware of what distraction does. I can observe myself being distracted. I can see it and I feel the results of it. It sometimes leads to stress and lost plans and ideas. Once I realize I was distracted by something, I often no longer remember what I was actually doing. I loose focus. My intentions are set off course.
Focus is probably one of the most important things we can offer our lives, our families, & our work. Certainly rug hooking itself requires deep focus and commitment. It takes time and love and understanding, just like most good things in life. When I put my attention there it makes me happy. It soothes me and leads me back to myself.
I get to choose where I put my attention. Sometimes I am led astray by a bit of glitter or a bump in the road and don't quite know how to get back on the path. When that happens all I have to do is pick up the hook and go to the frame and I'll find myself there waiting for me.
Rug hooking brings us into focus.That is one of the beautiful things it offers. In a time when we can so easily get lost in a sea of distraction, making things is like having a boat in a safe harbour.
I hope you get to make something today.
Thanks for reading,
Deanne
PS. If you want you can take the course only option for the winter online course. It is $99. I am going to add extra videos in the course about how to work from your stash to create the rug. I want to hook the pattern again in a different way anyway. I love the pattern. It is full of opportunity to be creative. So I am going to extend the sale on the course only option! It is a good choice if you have your own stash.
- Angela Davis
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