T’is the season when the world pulls at us, brighter and heavier at the same time. It’s the emotional season, whether we ask for it or not. The lights go up, and so do expectations.
T’is also the season to grab a brush, for this I know is true…
When you make something, you drop out of the cycle of stress and into your body. You activate your hands, your eyes, your breath, your imagination, and you literally interrupt overthinking. The act itself slows cortisol and helps energy move through you instead of staying all bottled up, making knots.
The act of creating anything will emotionally regulate, like a kind of nervous system reset. When you feel overwhelmed, stuck, or buzzing with stress, creativity is the off-button. It’s the switch that pulls you out of your crazy, monkey-mind head, and into the present moment.
And maybe, just maybe, in this wild holiday swirl, making something with your hands will ignite and spark some holiday magic, nudging us closer to warmth and honest cheer, gathering and gratitude, and the genuine desire to share a little more kindness than usual. And holy moley, our world could use a bunch more of that. Don’t you think?
And this…
You can do it now. You are allowed to. Permission granted. No one needs proof of your credentials first. There’s no barrier to entry—there never was. And your nervous system doesn’t care if what you make is “good” or “sellable” or “award worthy.” It just cares that you MADE. Full stop.
“But I don’t know how to start.” “But I don’t know what I’m doing.” “But I’m not creative.” “But.”…
Go put your hands to something anyway. Paint, stitch, sketch, cook, write, glue stuff, carve wood, smear pastels with your thumb. Go grab a recipe book, some thread. A hammer, if you’re a hammer person. Whatever it is, start there. The rest will follow, like holiday magic.
Laura. xo
