Reconnect with the World Around You
The power of ‘Doing It Yourself’ manifests in its ability to help us engage in the present moment by focusing on the task at hand. In turn, this can assist with reducing the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression, felt by so many of us throughout our lives, and heightened in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
DIY can refer to reusing, repurposing and recycling as opposed to replacing, tying in with the core purpose of community gardens, that is, self-sufficiency and sustainability. In an age of mass production and busy schedules, many of us lack the time and skills to be able to ‘do it ourselves’, opting to rope others in or get an air-tasker to do it for us. However, now more than ever, is a great time to engage in DIY activities particularly, the building of localised community initiatives such as sewing bees, permablitz groups and community gardening.
Eco-friendly Projects and Mindfulness
Being constantly bombarded with emails, calls and all forms of social media, even our alone time means we are not ever really alone.
Community gardening allows you to engage with the great outdoors and yourself, reigniting that connection to nature and your community. While often we may be connected virtually with others, particularly during COVID-19, we are often not engaging with ourselves or our environment in a meaningful way, distracted by tech and adapting to new and challenging circumstances.
By engaging in eco-friendly projects, we are able to feel a sense of purpose and connection with the world around us- from your bedroom and kitchen through to your front yard, schools, workplaces and neighbourhood.
Repurposing for Purpose
By participating in a community garden, we are granted the opportunity to engage in mindfulness and momentarily escape the burdensome demands of the virtual sphere.
Community gardening doesn’t only refer to growing your own fruit, vegetables, herbs or spices, there are often workshops and DIY tools that show you how to repurpose old pots, jars and other household paraphernalia and give them new life.
Donating these items or volunteering in local activities can provide you with a sense of purpose.
Get Creative in the Garden
There are a whole host of other ways using your DIY skills can be used in your community, for example; building a vertical garden for climbing plants such as passionfruit, building a birdbath for our feathery friends, painting some old worn-out pots or repurposed jars with the kids. The opportunities are endless, and so is your creativity!
In saying this, how can DIY projects really help our mindfulness and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety? Often those who suffer from anxiety and depression are usually also creative and artistic, but they channel this creativity into spiralling scenarios or debilitating thought patterns.
Many great artists, musicians and comedians have suffered with anxiety and depression and channelling their creative skills in a meaningful and rewarding way posed as a distraction and relief from their thoughts and feelings. This isn’t to say we are all going to be the next Picasso, Da Vinci or Mozart, but we can channel our minds into something rewarding.
“Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life”
Using Mindfulness Techniques
Being in nature promotes mindfulness, allowing us to reflect and re-connect, almost forcing us to stay present and be more aware of this symbiotic relationship with the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we need to survive.
A regular mindfulness practice facilitates relaxation emotion regulation, improved focus, increase resilience and foster creativity. Through mindful presence we learn to connect with those around us in meaningful ways, we are able to listen more to others and in time, shift the focus from own repetitive thoughts and behaviours.
Check in with yourself. When was the last time you stopped to talk to a neighbour or someone walking around in your neighbourhood? When was the last time you smelled or tasted something you grew with your own two hands? Or repurposed something you were about to throw into landfill?
Using your hands and repurposing objects in your home can give you that very tangible, present connection to the world around you- taking you out of your own head and putting your life literally in your own hands.
Perhaps the secret to re-connecting with yourself and the present moment is not necessarily to go outside and find it. It is in the here and the now, participating in your local community, being part of a community gardening group and interacting with those around you with presence and compassion.
Words by Christina Rojas, August 2020
