Monday Musing: Creativity vs. Anxiety

I've never really considered these 2 states to be opposites.  But I saw this quote (Facebook? Pinterest? I can't remember any more) and downloaded it, and made it the wallpaper on my work computer:

I'm not a subscriber to Deepak Chopra's overall philosophy, but this quote struck a chord for me.  The one thing creativity and anxiety have in common is imagination!  Normally I use imagination in a positive sense, as describing wishes, hopes, dreams, possibilities.  But when I really think about it, anxiety does stem from letting imagination run to the most negative place.

I tend to be equal parts hopeful and anxious.  I generally have a positive outlook on big things (a 500-mile move with no housing lined up, nearly 2 years living apart from my then-husband because of his job location, separation and divorce...) but I get all worked up and gloomy over little things (the terrible voicemail message I left for a client recently - I was totally unclear, and even gave the wrong phone number - it's still bothering me).  I definitely imagine that people think the worst about me over little mistakes, and that causes a lot of unnecessary anxiety!

The crazy thing is that our imagination can be under our control.  We talk about someone's imagination "running away" with them, but we choose where we focus our attention.  It isn't always easy to change the focus off the negative.  But when we focus on the positive, it's always by choice, isn't it?  We don't just go through our day and realize, "Oh, I'm really thinking positive thoughts, and imagining good things for myself, and wow I feel inspired!"  Most of the time we have to choose a positive experience - either through an activity (music? stitching?), or a distraction, or a conversation with a friend.  These may seem automatic, but they are choices.  They are our "go-to" solutions for a bad mood.  When I'm truly anxious or mad, my kitchen gets soooo clean!  I choose to channel the negative energy into a task (loathsome) that gets a positive result.  And when I'm elbow-deep in dish water, I find my "imaginings" start to turn and become more realistic.  And suddenly I have a positive outlook - and sometimes even a solution!  And clean dishes!

Really, that's what creativity is - harnessing imagination and using it in a positive way.  To solve a problem.  To bring joy and beauty.

What do you all think about this?

I Told You It Would Be Celtic!

Welcome, Pinners!  I'm blown away every time I see someone has pinned this design - I'm glad you like it or are inspired by it.  If you stitch it, will you share a picture with me?  I may feature some in a future post.  Thanks! - drea

It's less of a sampler, I think.  Although it does feature several different kinds of stitches, it's really an embellished Irish blessing.  And here it is in .jpg - I think you can right-click and "save as":

I've left it at symbols so you can choose your own colors.  But if you want to use the colors in my original design, here's a little help - (I can't figure out how to show the symbols with the color numbers):

Blue (upper left corner) - 820
Green (lower left corner) - 701
Red (upper right corner) - 321
Gold (lower right corner) - 167

Hopefully that will help you match up the symbols to the colors I used.  Or you can choose your own!

Edited!  I figured out how to turn it into a pdf AND share it here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Click here to access the pdf file, which includes a real symbol and color key!

Specialty stitches - in the center, the red is a Smyrna Cross (large X with a + over it) and the green is a Double Leviathan (you could also do a large eyelet here).  The blue is Crow's Foot - Montenegrin would be pretty as well.  And the long stitches cover 5 threads.  You should note that the points where the red and green run together is 4 long stitches!  (I'm working my way into Bargello.)  The blue border is blackwork.

Grid is 100x160 - actual design area is 92x154.  If you stitch this, I'd love to see your finished piece.  I hope I'll have time to stitch it myself soon!

Enjoy!

Wordless Weekend - Well, Not Really Wordless