"Are you expecting a parcel?" he asked.
No, I wasn't expecting a parcel, but it was addressed to me, so I opened it up.
Here's what I found.
My friend Beck, who is The Most Excellent Thrifter In The World, had been making a collection of art and craft supplies for me. I laughed, feeling touched, as I know her three-year-old daughter would be able to have a fine old time with all this! Then I was silenced, for how did she know?
How did she know that I've been feeling a bit glum in the creative department? That lately, the lack of any of my usual upbeat and productive-looking 'making stuff' blog posts isn't just because I've been too busy to do them?
How did she know that just that morning I'd had a conversation with C about this very thing, and that he'd suggested just doing something, anything, was better than nothing?
How did she know that I've been craving colour, but that I've been feeling too creatively lethargic to do anything about it?
How did she know that my brain feels good when my fingers have got paint on them, paint with the sort of rich pigments that stain your nails for weeks?
How did she know that the usual cure for the kind of creative funk I've found myself in is to just sit down and do some no-pressure creating? Not to develop new stuff for sale, not to try and build up stock, but to play and experiment and just See What Happens?
Just how did she know all of that?
I guess the answer is she didn't, but by hell, it's times like these I wonder whether the universe IS in fact all set up to give us exactly what we need when we need it. Freaky.
A thousand million thankyous, Beckster!
