I had more to say about Annie’s post yesterday.
This is what I said on her blog:
Knitting for me is a new passion, although I tend to become passionate (translation: obsessive) about many things that I like. I find that knitting does a lot for me – it calms me, it helps ease the anxiety I so often feel, it’s creative and challenging, it gives me a wonderful sense of accomplishment. How is that to start? I’m finding too that knitting has given me a sense of community that I usually don’t have in my life. I’m a writer and photographer and spend an exorbitant amount of time alone. Knitting (and the knit blogging community) has opened up a whole new world of people who TRULY UNDERSTAND! While my family is very accepting of all my “passions,” if they themselves don’t get involved, how can they really know?
I’ve been thinking about what some of the other commentators said and it struck a chord with me as well.
All my life I’ve been plagued with anxiety, panic attacks, debilitating perfectionism, obsessions, you name it. Not a very nice life sometimes (most times it’s a great life). I used to want to be like my best friend and my sister who always seemed to be so level headed and calm. Unemotional (in a good way).
Then one day I realized that besides their children, these two women I admire so much don’t have anything in their lives they’re passionate about. They don’t have anything that keeps them from falling asleep at night thinking about new and better ways to advance this passion. They don’t spend hours working on this passion (granted, they have kids – I don’t.)
Now it can be said that I may have too many passions, but I’m so grateful I have them. And I also know that the bad stuff in my life, like the anxiety and obsessive-ness, is just the flip side of the characteristics that make me knit until my fingers cramp. And that’s good. In fact, that’s great. So I’ll take the good with the bad.
What makes knitting so wonderful for me, is that it encompasses all of those obsessive traits, WHILE CALMING ME DOWN AT THE SAME TIME! What more could you ask for? Knitting – it keeps me crazy and sane all at once. I LOVE IT!
Exactly! “It makes me crazy and sane all at once.” Well said…
I have been thinking a lot about the comments I received in that post, and I think it boils down to people either understand and *acknowledge* another’s passion, or they don’t. Unfortunately, in my “real life”, there are not a lot of creative type people.
I enjoyed this post, Cara.
Oh My! I just had this same conversation with myself about a month ago. I was wondering what makes it so easy for some of my coworkers to advance at work (for little money, lots more responsibility) and I have no burning desire or drive to advance. The key was… they have nothing else. These women do nothing else but work and take care of family. I put my time in at work, but I have lots of other creative things I would rather be doing at home and you are right these are the things that keep me sane. Thanks for writing about it.
“it makes me crazy and sane all at once” — ditto squared! like EZ said “knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.”