Knowing Yourself

Living in a big city, some days I wake up feeling crowded.  While there are a lot of benefits to living here, their are times I long for the quiet and space of the country.  Today was one of those days.   I needed to organize my studio which has become crowded with unfinished projects.  After several attempts to rearrange furniture, pick up and declutter, I realized all I was accomplishing was feeling frustrated and more crowded.

 I finally decided to get in my car and go for a short drive.  The beauty of the Phoenix Valley is that in any direction you can drive a few minutes from the various downtowns and be out in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  I love that our state has so many open spaces and beautiful vistas.  So off I went....knowing that 5 minutes up the road I would encounter the following fields and mountains.  I pulled off the road for a bit and just took it all in.  Then it occurred to me that others might enjoy the view as well.

As with most problems, when you allow a little space or a short distraction between what isn't working and what you are trying to accomplish, it looks different when you return.  I see this all the time when I am teaching someone a new knitting skill and they can't seem to get it.  If they just allow themselves a few moments to get up, walk around the store and then return to the classroom, it somehow relaxes them enough that they can master the task they are wanting to learn.

For me, I returned to the studio and the rearranging and clean up looked so much easier than it had before I left.  I have to remember that a visual of open space relaxes me and then my brain can sort out the problem before me.  (Where is the holodeck when you need one?)