How Arts and Crafts Is Saving Me

So it's no secret that I'm rebuilding my life from rock bottom. It's not easy. Especially because trying to build a business with nothing is kinda like trying to brush your teeth while eating a cookie... There is a reason we all know the saying: You have to have money to make money.

So I started beading. Making pretty necklaces. I also started creating collages of the pics and memorabilia I collected over my life (to get it more displayable, but mostly to take up less space for easy packing). I even started sewing. In a nutshell I started creating stuff. Being creative.

So first thing that happens while we create is we get a hit of dopamine. The feel good hormone. Which is important with the whole feeling happier thing... definitely good for depression and anxiety. 

The part that has saved me the most has been (as per the words of Psychology Today): Creativity is closely linked to what folks have called “divergent thinking.”

In case you don't know the word divergent means: tending to be different or develop in different directions. 

This divergent thinking helped me come up with a way to raise the money I need to be able to start up a business, without having to personally come up with the cash injection I need to get the equipment before hand. 

My brain on arts and crafts has helped me more than searching the interwebs for how to make money this, or monetize that, or how to bootstrap a business. 

I had the idea of getting pledges for my services, then having everyone pay at once so I can get the equipment I need, and then I have these people as my first clients, who can then recommend my services and then become my first line of advertising.

It took me 3 days to get this done!!!

A couple of years of struggle at rock bottom, hearing idea's from others, listening to motivational talks (believe me the amount of motivators out there is HUGE - especially when you're down on your luck), and all it took was a couple of weeks of arts and crafts to get the solution I needed. To get out the box enough to come up with my plan.

I have always loved arts and crafts. My kids too! Our usual M.O. is to paint, create, sew, cut, stick and craft our way to making stuff as often as possible.

Our kids in nursery school and early primary years have a special focus on their art creations, because we all know they learn different skills from art (such as hand eye coordination, fine motor control, creativity, problem solving skills). Then as they get bigger and progress through the grades the focus on art drops, and they are inundated with homework and text books. By adulthood very few of us allow our creativity free reign.

There are definitely creative people out there. One just needs to look at the creative solutions to various problems that keep popping up on social media to see this.

My thoughts this week are going to be what can I make? I am going to make creativity as important a part of my life as exercise or eating is. Because let's face it, how else can we change our life without changing what we do? And honestly I can think of worse things to do to change my brain than making pretty necklaces.

The Momo Issues

So if you haven't heard about Momo, then either you haven't been on Facebook the last couple of weeks, or perhaps you don't have kids and your group of friends aren't sharing this sort of hoopla.

In a nutshell there are warnings going around about a character, named Momo, who has managed to infiltrate YouTube video's of popular kids programmes, who then encourages kids to self harm, inflict harm on others, and culminates in suicide. Very scary, right?

Well yeah. If it was real.

The internet is blowing up over a hoax. 

And this isn't the first time, nor will it be the last.

The picture of Momo is actually a picture of a statue by artist Keisuke Aisawa, called “Mother Bird.”

I have kids. And I'm not scared of Momo, even if it was real. Why you ask? Because firstly I make sure I know what my kids are watching. Their dad checks their browser history, and goes through their phones for random checks. They can have their privacy when they're older.

Secondly I talk to my kids all the time about internet safety, about peer pressure, about about the fact that there are sick trolls out there who do stupid stuff. When they were younger they never had open access to the internet, I sat with them at all times. I watched every video and programme they watched to make sure I could vouch for the kid friendliness of the programme, and raise any concerns I might have with them. I kept it interactive. I have made sure that my kids know they can speak to me about anything, judgement free, no matter what.

I want to make sure my girls are able to grow into young adults who can look after themselves, and that they know I will always be a safe place.

As adults we are so used to this world being a scary place, that as we get these warnings I first instinct is to prevent any and all injuries to kids around the world by sharing. And some troll is enjoying a good giggle while we do this.

The biggest thought I have while I see the internet panic about another hoax is that a quick google would have prevented this story from blowing up in the first place.

Fake news, hoaxes, and rubbish (such as new illnesses) makes the rounds because we don't take a minute to google info to verify for ourselves before we share. 

As adults we should be responsible for the information we share. 

Now we have an artist who feels the need to destroy her work of art because of the backlash she is getting from this viral hoax.

Now we have people around the world up in arms to force YouTube to take action against a hoax to protect our children. When protecting our children should be our job to begin with.

Maybe that's why Momo made the impression it did. Is the huge backlash in some way connected to the little inner centre of guilt that our kids are so unsupervised? 

Just my thoughts. 

Hope they spark some thoughts in you.

May harmony find you.