A Happy Dance in the Present

Becca from Finding Flapjack has come up with a great idea for blogging prompts.  Here is the current one:

It's been said that to be happy, you have to live in the moment. Do you agree with that statement? Why or why not? How well do you think you live in the moment and why do you believe that?

"Living in the moment" is very much the philosophy of this year, Mindfulness is the "buzzword" with many new books being published on the subject.  It's all to do with savouring the here-and-now instead of wishing your life away hurrying to be in the future or living in the past dwelling on past mistakes or past happiness and not appreciating what you have right now.

As well as selling several books about Mindfulness we have also stocked a wide range of "Grown-up Colouring Books" (that is colouring books for adults as opposed to Adult Themed Colouring Books which we have also sold!)

Enchanted Forest by Johanna Basford

The idea being that as you colour in the gorgeous pictures you are focusing on creating something lovely and achieving "flow" through that activity.  What is "flow"?  

"In positive psychology, flow, also known as zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity." Source - www.wikipedia.org

Most of us will recognise that state from our stitching (or knitting/crochet/crafting) but we probably call it the "Just One More Stitch" Syndrome!

So back to Becca's question - I would say that I am indeed very happy when I am in a state of flow with my stitching.  I am naturally a planner, a worrier, an over-thinker, I plot out difficult conversations in my head (usually when I am supposed to be going to sleep!).  Having my stitching and my blog does at least give me something positive to focus those thoughts on.  That's why I am always planning Blog Hops!  Ironically, my stitching is one area of life I do not worry about; I stitch what I want, when I want and so what if there is a big pile of WIPs and unstarted projects?  Their time will come, it just gives me choice.

I do get a lot of pleasure out of looking back through my blog and through my life.  I can clearly remember being the Large Boy's age (I am blessed with a highly retentive memory for experiences) and enjoy thinking about what I was doing when I was 12.  Was life better then?  People look at the past through rose-tinted glasses, my husband is always moaning that the boys don't play out like we used to.  But that's because there is so much more available to them in organised activities and in home entertainment.  The Large Boy's friends have a huge range of sporting and recreational groups they can go to, not to mention the room full of toys, Lego and computer games.  Their parents have much more disposable income than our's did.  Probably because both parents tend to work now.  My son has definitely seen less bullying, less poverty, less violence, less hunger and worry than my generation did.  His worries and concerns, and those of his peers, are listened to and taken into consideration.  OK, it's not perfect and there are still problems for many children but there is not the systematic bullying we experienced and were powerless to prevent.  As he gets older, the Internet will become more of an issue but on the reverse side, he will be able to make contact with more like-minded people than he could ever meet in our small town.  Maybe even start his own blog!

I am conscious that he is on the cusp of teenagehood and will change soon.  Harry Enfield has a brilliant sketch on this subject - Kevin Becomes a Teenager.  So I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy the days where he is happy to cuddle up on the sofa and watch a film with his Mum.  Yesterday's choice was Jack Black's School of Rock.  Very funny film.

And while we were watching, I was stitching!  I completed On The Beach by Madame Chantilly.  Here it is in all it's glory followed by a few close-ups.

On the Beach by Madame Chantilly

Stitched on Kynance evenweave by Sparklies

The fabric is especially dyed by Kate from Sparklies.  I made several colour changes, the blues are 798/799/800, the starfish are 950 and the shell is 842.  The dark tips to the seagulls are 3799, the charted black was just too harsh.  Albert is my cousin's baby.  Yes, old man names are back in fashion!  I can't wait to get this framed and to go visit them to present it in person.

Finally, we are approaching Easter, the weekend 3rd - 6th April.  I will be hosting my Annual Easter Treasure Hunt again.  Each participant posts a picture of something stitched on an Easter or Spring theme along with a letter I allocate to them.  Over the Easter Weekend everyone hops around like a bunny, finds the Mystery Phrase the letters spell out and reports back here with it.  Prizes for the lucky winners chosen at random.  If you'd like to be a Picture Poster please drop me an email.

Here is the link to last year's Treasure Hunt if you are wondering how it all works - Easter-treasure-hunt-blog-hop 2014