IMG_1852Repetitive Actions

We find solace in repetitive actions.

We learn this early on. As children we love having the same book read to us because knowing the end of the story makes it not so scary.

As we get older we build ritual into our lives by going to work the same route, doing the same things on each day and ordering the same food in restaurants that we tend to choose.

There is safety in repetitive actions. Simple.

That’s why you favor one restaurant over another or one fast food chain over the one next door. You know that the no 3 burger and fries is what you like and it is the same in restaurants across the country and even in other continents.

I can order a grande latte at Starbucks in Vancouver and place the exact same order at Heathrow airport and I will get the same drink, which I like.

The unknown is scary on a basic level.

Therefore the known is safe.

Crochet has simple stitches and when you have grasped a pattern you can repeat, not only the pattern many times, but the actual square in granny squares for instance.

Deciding whether to do a square in pink or blue is the extent of the unknown about crochet. Because it is known to us before we start it makes crochet soothing.

Crochet is soothing because it is repetitive.

We know what will happen when we stick to a pattern and we know the end result.

And we want the same result for the first square to the two hundredth square.

Doing something over and over again is good to soothe frazzled nerves and, after a tough day at work, it is relaxing.

It seems like work but without the dangers of work.

At work you never know what will happen. You don’t know whether or not you can a balance the cash drawer, or if your boss will yell at you, or if a colleague does not pitch up for their shift and this makes extra workload for you.

Maybe your coworkers are a pain or needy and clingy. Either way working for others is stressful.