Knit and relax
Jenny May Forsyth ponders the thought-provoking benefits of knitting
When life gets hectic – and, let’s face it, that’s most of the time for a great many of us who are juggling work and family responsibilities – especially at Christmas – sometimes the best thing to do, for peace of mind, is to take time out to think about something completely di erent. For instance, instead of working out what I need to do to meet another looming commitment, I might sit in the conservatory with some knitting on my needles, leaving the Christmas game playing and watching the comings and goings of nature outside, contemplating a typical day in the life of a robin red breast.
Taking time out
Knitting provides us with a perfect opportunity to escape normal life, as we already know. When we’re knitting we can’t do another physical task at the same time, be it washing the dishes or tidying up the Christmas wrapping paper. So, why not use our knitting time as an excuse for taking time out of normal mental activity too? Giving your brain time to relax while the world revolves around you.
Profound thinking
The Oxford Dictionary defines contemplation as ‘profound thinking about something’. This might sound heavy, but it needn’t be. It’s simply about focusing our thinking mind on a particular topic.This could be with the aim of reaching greater understanding about a life situation, but it could also be a light-hearted mental escapade.There are no rules, and enjoyment is as valuable as worthy intent. Our knitting time can be used as a gift to grant ourselves the luxury to think about things we haven’t got time for among the hubbub of dayto-day living. It can provide an opportunity for deeper thinking when much of our thoughts are centred around mundane practicalities. Perhaps there are important decisions to make or big dreams to shape into reality – our knitting time can o er the thinking space we need to mull over the pros and cons of the available choices.
Knitting on autopilot
The ideal knitting project to accompany such journeys of thought is something that doesn’t require us to focus our attention on the pattern. Something in stocking stitch is perfect.The important thing is to free our mind from the knitting task, and let it happen in autopilot mode, so we can use our mental energy for thinking.
Menu of thoughts
We need to be mindful about not straying into worrying or obsessing about things that are bothering us, though. Many ideas for contemplation will be short-lived, like wondering what cats dream about or why clouds are the colour they are.To prevent my mind from straying back to the issues that niggle me in my life, I sometimes prepare a list of things to contemplate to act as prompts. In fact, sometimes this itself is my contemplation-while-knitting contemplation – even contemplating things to contemplate is a therapeutic holiday from normal thinking!
Beneath the surface
If you’re thinking this is a frivolous waste of thinking time when there’s so much in life that needs to be planned, organised and decided upon, think again. It’s well known in scientific circles that taking our minds o a problem sometimes produces the answer – that’s because our subconscious mind is mulling it over even though our conscious mind might not be. Plus, taking a break from our usual thinking habits is an act of self-kindness and good for the soul – just like knitting is!