Creative listening

In the last year I have been doing a lot of different types of creative stuff. It started out as occupational therapy during my recovery from a bout of pneumonia. Suddenly, there were endless hours of the day to sleep restlessly, sit quietly, and move around our apartment slowly.

I spent most of this time of recuperation listening to audio books and podcasts. I found it difficult to concentrate, which partially had to do with my sorry state of health, but it also had to do with my mind’s endless wandering. It’s surprising how long it has been since I just sat somewhere doing nothing, but listening to someone tell a story.

So what I did was buy myself a coloring book for adults. It didn’t take long before I was hooked. What I discovered about this (pre-)occupation was rather marvelous.

I used to listen to audio books or podcasts to make some mundane task (housecleaning, sorting paper, clearing out cupboards) seem less boring. Now I color books so I have an excuse to listen to something beautiful, fascinating, wondrous, and uplifting. It is a far more pleasurable way of creative listening.