You gotta love the Stoics

You gotta love the Stoics, those powerful philosopher kings of ancient empires - Marcus Aurelius and Seneca, et al.  They believed, among other things, that whatever misfortune you can imagine happening, probably will happen, and lots of human energy is spent worrying about it.  The stoics believed that worry was useless, and what you need to do is go out there and live like the worst has happened.  They were mainly worried about losing their wealth, and power, and the comfort their riches and position brought them, so they'd leave those luxuries behind and spend a few weeks or months, living in the wild or in poverty,.  The believed that experiencing their very worst fear deprived that fear of its power over them.  Certainly, the stoics still had servants and castles and piles of gold to go back to, but their foray into a situation without such things gave them the sense that they would survive regardless of the outcome of political or military skirmishes. 

We knitters, especially newer knitters, often spend an undue portion of our knitting time worrying about what might happen - about making a mistake or getting it wrong.  We count our rows diligently, tracking all our shaping, and putting in lots of lifelines.  We do that because we're worried, of course. But as the ancient stoics knew, whatever bad thing you can imagine happening, probably will happen.  Maybe some helpful (otherwise adorable) small person takes a shine to your needles and pulls them out of your project for closer examination.  The bad things we imagine happening to our knitting are fairly unlikely, but that doesn't diminish the fear.  As the stoics knew, what does diminish the fear is experiencing, in a controlled environment, those things that frighten us.  A knitting class is just such a controlled environment.  It is a safe, supportive exposure to a new and challenging situation that might be scary uncomfortable if you were alone.  But you're not alone - we're here to help you.  We'll let you experience the challenge, and gently guide you on your way through it. 

I guarantee you'll enjoy your knitting more when you're armed with more confidence and freed worry.  We have a packed calendar this winter, starting with the Cocoknits Method Sweater Workshop this weekend.  There are two new Custom Fit Sweater in 6 weeks classes starting in February, and lots more.   If you really want to have a real survival experience in the knitting wilderness, sign up for Fix your Knitting class.  I'm looking forward too seeing you in class and around the table.  You are always welcome here. 

~Ellen

Back to 23 January 2018 Newsletter