flow

Have you taken the step into the quicksand of This American Life? While their stories will suck you in with no hope of ever escaping, they also leave you feeling ripe with human emotion. Depending on the episode, you might develop sore abdominals from so much laughter. Certain vignettes can spark philosophical discussions, while others will have you reining in the tears. This particular episode, Meet the Pros, was of particular interest to me. In Act Three, Martha, My Dear, the author visits his dream job in the crafts department of Martha Stewart Living. His query: if his passion became his job, would it still be fun?

This is a really important issue for me at the moment, as "my little sewing addiction" becomes a "job." It has become all the more essential for me to find ways to protect and nurture the creative process that brought me to where I am, an "official" pattern designer, in the first place. You know the feeling - that crafting "high," the loss of time, the ability to continue working on a project without eating for 8 hours ... the world could be falling to pieces around you, but you just blankly respond "In a minute ... I'm almost done, just one more seam/row/etc."

Flow. Have you read it? You should - as an artist, a parent, or an educator. C.'s theory is that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow— a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity or situation at hand. Flow is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing.

To achieve flow, a task must provide sufficient challenge, but the person must possess the skills to surmount it. If a task is too difficult, frustration ensues. If it is too easy, it is simply not intellectually or physically engaging enough. Flow arises in this narrow spectrum where the person's skills are perfectly matched to the challenge at hand.

Tlaloc sews a button on an apron. He didn't even notice me taking the picture.

My job as a Montessori teacher is to match the child to the challenge, to provide him the opportunity to experience flow. We recognize the need for flow in our adult lives - we all talk about the need to create, the sacredness of the creative process, and how refreshed we feel after we've completed a project. Children need to have the same experience! How often to we swoop in on the child when he is concentrating, shuffling him about from activity to activity? Hold on ... let me whip out my pocket-sized Montessori holy book ... ah hah! Here it is ... Above all else, never interrupt a concentrating child! Welp, there it is. Children need flow more than anyone - they emerge from this state with a newfound self-confidence, increased problem-solving skills, and a love of learning.

My new mantra: protect the flow. So many good things come out of it, whatever your passion or hobby, whatever your age.