If I want to calm down, I’ll buy some fabric,
get a pattern, shut myself in a room
and stay there for days, really happy.
And at the end of it, you get a bedspread
or some curtains or something to wear – it’s lovely.
– Twiggy
It’s 10 on Tuesday and this week Carole wants to know:
10 Things You Do To Calm Down
Hmmmm, calm down you say? Yes, we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we? Some of us (me!!) more than others.
So, what things help me regain sanity when everything around me is chaos…
- Knitting – absolutely every single time. Even when the knitting is not good, the pattern is not easy, or it is just a simple swatch. Knitting is number one on my list.
- Shut my mouth – stress and talking are a bad combination.
- Meditation. A simple activity that centers me and helps me clear away the chaos from the inside – and if I am calm, what is going on around me is not so earth shattering. Even easier if you turn on Breathe, put in your ear buds, close your eyes, and listen.
- Make bread. There is something so cathartic about the process of flour, water, yeast, and salt creating something so incredibly delicious. Stress reduction on so many levels!
- Take a walk. A change of scenery just does a body good.
- Work in the garden. Bonus – taking out your frustration on the weeds.
- Read. Nothing quite like entering the world of the novel to clear your mind of what is stressing you.
- Take a nice hot bath (even better while reading) That old Calgon commercial had it right – take me away, indeed!
- Make a nice cup of tea to sip slowly.
- Turn on music – it always lifts my mood, calms me, and changes my focus.
There you have my “go to” calm facilitators – what are yours?
Isn’t knitting wonderful?! I really do wonder how people cope with stress, waiting, what they do while watching TV, etc. if they don’t knit. And your bread is just beautiful(and I’m sure delicious, too)!
A lot of it depends on what I am trying to calm myself from – but your list has some of the answers, that’s for sure! 🙂
Great list and very similar to mine. Turning on music is an excellent idea, too.
I think it’s the repetition of knitting those stitches that soothes the soul. Music is another good one that I forgot.
Perfect list! I tend not to bake . . . (because calories) . . . but anything that gets your hands moving really does the trick!
All lovely things to help bring the calm back into focus! (And I highly recommend the coloring calm that I blogged about…definitely gets you in a zone…)
Funny how everyone leads with knitting (and if I do this Ten on Tuesday, I will, too).
Yup, knitting is certainly a common theme! And I can’t believe I forgot baking – I don’t think I know of ANYTHING that calms me the way kneading bread does!