“Making things with our hands centers us. The simple act of doing it—of getting lost in it, of shutting everything out until we look up again and realize time has passed—is as close as some of us ever get to that feeling of inner peace.”
From “A Craftsman’s Legacy—Why Working With Our Hands Gives Us Meaning” by Eric Gorges, 2019, Algonquin Books.
Amen, brother! This passage pretty much nails it, as do countless other passages in this book gifted to me by my wife, Julie. Craftsmen of all persuasions explain why working with their hands gives their lives purpose. I wondered why I felt the need to be in the workshop. I’m happier when I’m out there working with my hands, but why is that?
I have a need to work through creative challenges on a daily basis. Seriously, no sitting idle here. When I’m deep into a project in the workshop, I get lost for hours on end. So much so, that I too detach from everything else around me, and it is in this realm—this state of mind—where I reconfirm one of my steadfast truths: I am meant to work with my hands. I can feel it deep in my bones.
What do you call it when you become completely absorbed in something, lose track of time, and feel very focused? This is called "flow." Mihaly Csikszentmihaly's book "Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experience" explores this long-standing idea and offers extensive research on these experiences that greatly impact our lives. I read this book 20 years ago and connected with it immediately—it changed how I spend my free time.
Author Eric Gorges tells a gripping story about how he walked away from his soul-crushing corporate career after a spiraling crisis of depression and self-doubt led him to the brink of death, an experience that changed him forever. My takeaway was pretty straightforward: Life is short. Listen to your gut, find your calling, and live it.