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5 Things I’ve Learned From Pottery

Pottery is profound.

A while back I was playing with different types of relaxation and self-care – time I could lose myself in the flow of the moment and fill my personal cup while doing it.

Pottery was one of the experimental hobbies and let me tell you…I now have 2 wheels, a kiln and a space my husband jokingly calls the pottery barn. I mean, it’s in an outbuilding so technically it is a barn 😉

One of my business colleagues asked me what I’d learned from pottery and, well…of course inspiration struck for a musing.

After contemplating my response, I am delighted to share the top five things I’ve learned from pottery with you. 

I cannot do a damn thing in life unless I’m present.

I can’t mull over a frustration and still succeed at making a mug or a bowl. It just doesn’t work. I literally have to clear my mind and be present in the moment. Let everything else go and connect with what I’m doing. Right here. Right now. 

Very much like my writing. Apply it to having lunch with a friend or discussing life with a partner. Things just work out way better when I’m “in it”. Drop everything else and be in that moment, making eye contact, truly listening, truly connecting.

I have to set an intention.

If I don’t, time seems to slip away and I never actually get out there. I long for it. I wish I could feel the mud and clay while I create and yet there’s always something demanding my time. Setting an intention means I’ve set that time aside. Instead of being frustrated it’s not happening I get to relax into the gift of the moment.

I need to verbalize and set boundaries.

Yup. No one else is going to do it for me. I want to be creating. Sometimes I get out there and then my phone rings or texts come through and I struggle to enjoy the moment and everything is lopsided and messed up because mentally I’m juggling everything else. If I set boundaries and verbalize my intention, people help support me in my goal and I end up delighted and sated in self-care.

Not everything will work out. At least, in my eyes.

I’m going to work really hard on something and have high hopes for how it will turn out and inevitably some things will not work out. I’ll be disappointed with them and yet… someone else may love the result.  

It’s all in perspective.

Perfection is not something I want to strive for.

It seems to be the enemy of progress and I simply end up frustrated. As a child we don’t walk the first time we try, or magically play an instrument perfectly the first time we pick it up. It takes practice. And then more practice and more and even then, there will be minor mistakes. It’s human nature. No basketball player will make every basket. No chef will cook the perfect meal every time. 

Good enough is a gift to my sanity and emotions. I’ll take it every time:)

So, there’s my musing for the week. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. And… maybe a couple of my life lessons can inspire you too.

 

                                         with love,

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