Considering everything that’s happening recently it’s getting increasingly harder to find rest and peace, and I’ve been wondering what do people in this community do for fun, if there’s any media you recently found you enjoy, or anything else that comes to mind.
It’s been really hard finding community where i live, and i thought maybe this will make me and other people like me feel a sense of community.
Doing woodworking when I can get the time - there’s nothing like a spinning chunk of wood or whirring bandsaw blade to narrow your thoughts down to just one topic. I have a hard time quieting my mind but that works pretty well. Probably about as close to zen as I get.
Creative stuff, writing/editing a solarpunk TTRPG campaign guide when my mind is in the right place, doing the art for it with a podcast on in the background when it isn’t and I want to be distracted. Chipping away at these projects feels good. I can end the day thinking about what I got done and planning next steps.
A bit of volunteering gets me out and into the company of folks I get along with.
I made clay figurines earlier this week with my partner, having a creative outlet is good for the soul.
Though tbh, woodworking sounds more fun, being able to make your own furniture would also save some money probably, considering how expensive wooden furniture became where i lived.
It’s an incredibly useful skillset in my opinion (though I’ll admit the saying about everything looking like a nail when all you have is a hammer probably rings truer than I’d like to admit). One of my main hobbies is scavenging furniture on trash day and fixing it up to practice furniture restoration. We got a ton of the stuff in our place that way. Sometimes I fix nice stuff I don’t need and give it away on my local Buy Nothing page just to keep it out of the landfill.
I also turn replacement handles for knives and spatulas and other kitchen stuff on the lathe, and help out with carpentry projects for friends and relatives.
The big cost is space for tools and lumber. Where I am at least, tools aren’t especially hard to come by secondhand so most of mine are hand-me-downs or purchased at consignment shops. Older tools are almost always better quality than newer stuff, except for safety, where some of the new ones have much better designs or features. I find most of my lumber through Buy Nothing or trash day - haven’t bought any for years now.