Finding my Zen Zone with Beads

Wanna hear something funny?

Every afternoon, my husband, Aveesh, and my son, Jai, go out to play disc golf. It is my "quiet time," which should more accurately  be called my "run around like a chicken with my head cut off whilst trying to complete 96 tasks in 3 hours" time. It's the few hours in these pandemic days when I theoretically have enough quiet space to respond to emails, write newsletters, photograph and list products, restore order in my house, drive to the studio and drop off important things, run the days packages to the PO, and cook dinner.  You know, super-woman stuff.😉
I know you know what I mean.

But I bet our days differ with this next part. 
You know what one of my main tasks is during these pandemic afternoons? I put in my air pods, so the music is as close to in-my-head as it can get.
And I count and sort beads.  

Making bead kits is my new zen. I'm not making jewelry. This does not feel exceptionally productive or creative. I have no fabulous finished creation to show for my work. But there is something undeniably soothing and calming about the rhythm of counting and sorting, especially during these stressful times. 

Neon Pony Beads. Solid colored Pony Beads. Candy Jade beads. Kids DIY kit beads. Bail Beads. Crimp Beads. Enamel Tile Beads. Large Hole Czech Glass Beads.

Alllllll of those bead kits that ya'll have been buying? I make them sitting on a picnic blanket on my living room floor, and I find immense calm in the task.
Mind you, I am the founder of this company. I am a creative visionary.  I have a To-Do list a mile long. But after I count beads.

I share this with you today because, I think for a lot of us, this pandemic is starting to feel really real. The Summer fun stuff wasn't possible, so we looked forward to Fall. Now we're realizing the Fall fun stuff won't be possible either. The kids are going back to school, or not going back to school; either option is stressful. We miss our families, we miss traveling. We miss restaurants and meeting friends and strangers. We're months in to this, and this is starting to feel like it really is the new normal. 

Our comfort zones have been erased, and our stress-relieving activities aren't safely possible anymore. So we find something to fill the void and create at least a temporary new normal.

If you're looking for a way to find your zen zone, put on some good music, pull out some beads, and play. Roll them in your hands. String them up, and maybe dump them off and restring them again. 

It helps. I promise.

How do you find your zen lately? Do share below. I want to hear your secrets too!

OX~
Carter