From Alison’s hand made soap box- I am thrilled to see Sir Richard Branson has encouraged a shake up of how we do business. ‘Doing good is good business’. He says in his New Book ‘Screw Business as Usual’. The Goodlife Centre wants to help as many people as we can to become more self sufficient in maintaining their home. I also believe that using our hands creates a new way for our brain to learn, respond and focus. ‘Thinking with our hands’ is one of the ways we can re train our minds to be more logical, sequential and effecient. Learning a skill- not just daubing white glue and glitter onto something- takes time. Our self confidence increases as we see gradual improvement. It’s not about instant gratification. Its about investing in ourselves to increase our ability to make useful and beautiful things for ourselves and others. When we have invested time into producing something, our awareness and appreciation for things other people have made also grows. we develop a new regard for handmade objects.
Even factory produced mechanisms have a lot of thought ,planning and practical skill behind them. As we develop an awareness of how the world around us is merely a combination of millions of hours of ingenuity (the invention of electricity) hard work ( tarmac and road maintenance) and beauty. (public parks and gardens) It connects us to our surroundings and we begin to care about and care for them. As we connect with where we are, we notice more details and live more in the moment and that is a place we can glimpse the stillness of inner calm. Come grab a chisel and get started. An Article on Sir Richard Branson’s ‘Screw Business as usual’
