TOTAL READ TIME: 3.5 MINUTES
In a video conference meeting last month, a colleague noticed I was holding a paintbrush. Then he held up his.
“Kathy, I’ve never seen anyone else at this company carry a paintbrush. I know why I have mine, but why do you have yours?”
Obviously, we delayed our work agenda to begin show-and-tell with each other’s $1.99 craft store paintbrush. First, I shared my reason: when I need to think in a flow state, I grab my paintbrush. This includes things like finding the path to solve a problem or thinking strategically around a situation. I’m not exactly sure how it works; all I know is that when I need to generate ideas, it works better with brush in hand. Perhaps it is stimulating brainwaves in a different way. Similarly, over the years I’ve seen some executives walk around their office in deep thought while swaying baseball bats. Perhaps they were practicing the same mind-hack.
It was my co-worker’s turn to show-and-tell. He held up a beautiful, finely-crafted Zen chalkboard which accompanied the paintbrush, then casually shared that he made it himself. The Zen practice of the chalkboard is to:
- Dip brush in water
- Use brush to paint an intention, phrase or picture onto the chalkboard
- Enjoy the artwork in the moment, deeply breathing in its beauty
- Surrender and release as the water dissolves the image or words
- Recognize and honor the impermanence of everything: our thoughts, feelings, experiences and all life in general
Each moment is an opportunity to create a new state of mind, recognizing that the past is in the past and what is important is This Now. Then this now. And so on.
He then shared why he does woodworking as a hobby: “If you work with your head you need to relax with your hands. If you work with your hands you need to relax with your head.”
He went on to say that a physical laborer would likely relax at the end of the day by reading a book, while someone who uses their mind all day needs to unwind by doing something with their hands, such as carpentry, knitting, painting, etc. He said that since he uses his brain all day, in spare time you can find him in his garden or workshop to unwind.
The following week to my surprise a beautiful hand-crafted Zen board was delivered to my house. I never imagining that he would share such fine craftsmanship with a fringe co-worker, as we don’t work together on a regular basis.
This is now one of my most treasured gifts, prominently placed in my office. Today, when I’m trying to solve a complex problem in my head, I can dip my brush into the water, and move into flow state with my hands as helpers.
So how do you relax? Do you innately follow the head-hands concept? Tell me, if you work with your head, how do you relax with your hands? Or vice versa?