Gaman Desu Yo

As a knitter, I have read much about the therapeutic value of the craft.

Its soothing and repetitive nature has helped people stop smoking, lowered anxiety, managed anger. It can serve as both mental and physical therapy, as described in The Knitting Sutra, a book about one woman's recovery from a debilitating motorcycle accident.

And this type of healing applies to crafting in general.

This morning on NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, we heard about how Japanese Americans who were interned in camps during WWII created objects of beauty in order to combat despair. Their endurance—gaman, in Japanese—was bolstered by creative expression.

As the NPR story documents, crafting helps get you through rough times. (I suspect that the rate of crafting goes WAY up in the long, dark days of winter.)

Feeling rough around the edges? Need gaman?

Maybe it's time to give yourself space for a bit of crafting.