Counting Therapuetic Benefits #3

I knit so I don't kill people.  Well, maybe not quite.  But knitting does calm me down if I'm upset at somebody.  Much like prayer or meditation, knitting is rythmic, repetative, and calming.  Tai Chi is really big slow movements that can be calming.  I think (the right kind of ) knitting can lower heart rate and blood pressure.  It's a life raft in stormy seas.  I even sometimes have the feeling of the aunts that taught me sitting right there with me.  Their patience soothing.  The Rose Milk scent on the air.  The love cradling my being.  For a hyper kid to sit still for even a moment was a miracle, and those women had the secret.  They made magic from sticks and hooks and strings.  And they listened to the woes of the day, the hurts of the playground.  In a short time, those hurts and woes didn't seem so big anymore.  Forgiveness felt better.  Rage seemed to be a waste of time when fingers could create magic.