Rediscovering Craftsmanship in Challenging Times
How building and fixing improves your mental health
Yesterday was the first day in quarantine, in which a severe feeling of unhappiness crept up inside me. Not a slight “I don’t want to get out of bed” sense, but a “Damn, what if we have to live like this for the next year” depression.
Rather than pushing away the feeling, I leaned into it, went for a solo walk, and thought about all the things for which I am grateful. I am so lucky to be healthy, to not having to worry about putting food on the table, and to still being able to write. I appreciate this to the fullest.
That helped.
While contemplating what other things can help to ease up the nagging feeling caused by isolation, I remembered a passage from Cal Newport’s book Digital Minimalism:
“[A] life well lived requires activities that serve no other purpose than the satisfaction that the activity itself generates.”
He makes a case for active creation as a source of happiness instead of passive consumption. One of these activities is craftsmanship.
I always thought I had “two left hands.” My drawing and painting skills barely got me…
