When I was writing Beyond Anxiety, I wanted to find a good metaphor for building a life that you love within the cultural bounds of wherever you are and still stay sane. And I thought about crazy quilting!

If you are a quilter, you know that crazy quilting is not the same as ordinary quilting. Ordinary quilting starts with a pattern that is carefully drawn out, and then the quilter sews together panels that follow that pattern. With crazy quilting, you start with a scrap of fabric you love, and you sew another piece to it and then another and another, around and around in a spiral, until there’s a large enough piece of cloth that you can call a quilt. 

And I was thinking: That’s sort of how you can make a life, too.

In this episode of The Gathering Room, I’m talking about what I call “sanity quilting” and offering up some practical advice for maintaining your mental well-being during turbulent times. 

Like crazy quilting, sanity quilting involves building a life out of the things you love in order to stay peaceful, calm, inspired, and sane. 

In the quilt that is your time—your whole life—most of us are taught to follow the patterns set by our culture: Get a job, get a relationship, have a family, buy a house, etc.

However, for me, it’s always been much more interesting to say, “What do I love most?” and put that at the center of my quilt. Then I put things that connect with it around the edges until I gradually fill up my time with things that I love. That’s the way I’ve lived my life.

The culture might view this as “crazy,” but I don’t think it’s not crazy to do what you love. What’s crazy is pushing what you love to the margins of your life—or even worse, never experiencing them at all. 

Whenever the pattern of society that we thought we knew is being disrupted, it feels very confronting to a lot of people. At the times when everything around you feels like it’s going crazy, that’s when you must make a sanity quilt. And you do that in very quiet ways.

Join me for the full episode to learn more about stitching the things you love into your life, so you can cultivate peace, sanity, and calm during even the most challenging times.



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Follow Martha on Instagram
The Gathering Room Show Notes
Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook

When I was writing Beyond Anxiety, I wanted to find a good metaphor for building a life that you love within the cultural bounds of wherever you are and still stay sane. And I thought about crazy quilting! If you are a quilter, you know that crazy quilting is not the same as ordinary quilting. Ordinary quilting starts with a pattern that is carefully drawn out, and then the quilter sews together panels that follow that pattern. With crazy quilting, you start with a scrap of fabric you love, and you sew another piece to it and then another and another, around and around in a spiral, until there&rsquo;s a large enough piece of cloth that you can call a quilt. And I was thinking: That&rsquo;s sort of how you can make a life, too. In this episode of The Gathering Room, I&rsquo;m talking about what I call &ldquo;sanity quilting&rdquo; and offering up some practical advice for maintaining your mental well-being during turbulent times. Like crazy quilting, sanity quilting involves building a life out of the things you love in order to stay peaceful, calm, inspired, and sane. In the quilt that is your time&mdash;your whole life&mdash;most of us are taught to follow the patterns set by our culture: Get a job, get a relationship, have a family, buy a house, etc. However, for me, it&rsquo;s always been much more interesting to say, &ldquo;What do I love most?&rdquo; and put that at the center of my quilt. Then I put things that connect with it around the edges until I gradually fill up my time with things that I love. That&rsquo;s the way I&rsquo;ve lived my life. The culture might view this as &ldquo;crazy,&rdquo; but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s not crazy to do what you love. What&rsquo;s crazy is pushing what you love to the margins of your life&mdash;or even worse, never experiencing them at all. Whenever the pattern of society that we thought we knew is being disrupted, it feels very confronting to a lot of people. At the times when everything around you feels like it&rsquo;s going crazy, that&rsquo;s when you must make a sanity quilt. And you do that in very quiet ways. Join me for the full episode to learn more about stitching the things you love into your life, so you can cultivate peace, sanity, and calm during even the most challenging times. 
CONNECT WITH US
<ul>
<li><a href="https://instagram.com/themarthabeck">Follow Martha on Instagram</a></li>
<li><a href="https://marthabeck.com/gathering-pod/staying-sane/">The Gathering Room Show Notes</a></li>
<li><a href="https://facebook.com/themarthabeck">Join Martha for a Live Episode of The Gathering Room via Facebook</a></li>
</ul>

Welcome to a virtual gathering that will kindle your curiosity and soothe your soul! Join Martha Beck for the podcast edition of her weekly Facebook event, and listen in as she touches on a spirituality or personal growth topic that’s on her mind. You'll also hear the lively conversation that follows as Martha opens the floor to questions from the live viewers. With topics ranging from courage to creativity, purpose to intuition, these discussions will engage and support you on your journey to self-knowledge. Ready to connect with a community of like-minded seekers? Welcome to The Gathering Room Podcast.

Welcome to a virtual gathering that will kindle your curiosity and soothe your soul! Join Martha Beck for the podcast edition of her weekly Facebook event, and listen in as she touches on a spirituality or personal growth topic that’s on her mind. You'll also hear the lively conversation that follows as Martha opens the floor to questions from the live viewers. With topics ranging from courage to creativity, purpose to intuition, these discussions will engage and support you on your journey to self-knowledge. Ready to connect with a community of like-minded seekers? Welcome to The Gathering Room Podcast.

Welcome to a virtual gathering that will kindle your curiosity and soothe your soul! Join Martha Beck for the podcast edition of her weekly Facebook event.

The Gathering Room Podcast

Welcome to a virtual gathering that will kindle your curiosity and soothe your soul! Join Martha Beck for the podcast edition of her weekly live event, and listen in as she touches on a spirituality or personal growth topic that’s on her mind. You'll also hear the lively conversation that follows as Martha opens the floor to questions from the live viewers. With topics ranging from courage to creativity, purpose to intuition, these discussions will engage and support you on your journey to self-knowledge. Ready to connect with a community of like-minded seekers? Welcome to the Gathering Room Podcast.

Welcome to a virtual gathering that will kindle your curiosity and soothe your soul! Join Martha Beck for the podcast edition of her weekly live event, and listen in as she touches on a spirituality or personal growth topic that’s on her mind. You'll also hear the lively conversation that follows as Martha opens the floor to questions from the live viewers. With topics ranging from courage to creativity, purpose to intuition, these discussions will engage and support you on your journey to self-knowledge. Ready to connect with a community of like-minded seekers? Welcome to the Gathering Room Podcast.

When I was writing Beyond Anxiety, I wanted to find a good metaphor for building a life that you love within the cultural bounds of wherever you are and still stay sane. And I thought about crazy quilting!  If you are a quilter, you know that crazy quilting is not the same as ordinary quilting. Ordinary quilting starts with a pattern that is carefully drawn out, and then the quilter sews together panels that follow that pattern. With crazy quilting, you start with a scrap of fabric you love, and you sew another piece to it and then another and another, around and around in a spiral, until there’s a large enough piece of cloth that you can call a quilt.  And I was thinking: That’s sort of how you can make a life, too.  In this episode of The Gathering Room, I’m talking about what I call “sanity quilting” and offering up some practical advice for maintaining your mental well-being during turbulent times.  Like crazy quilting, sanity quilting involves building a life out of the things you love in order to stay peaceful, calm, inspired, and sane.  In the quilt that is your time—your whole life—most of us are taught to follow the patterns set by our culture: Get a job, get a relationship, have a family, buy a house, etc.  However, for me, it’s always been much more interesting to say, “What do I love most?” and put that at the center of my quilt. Then I put things that connect with it around the edges until I gradually fill up my time with things that I love. That’s the way I’ve lived my life.  The culture might view this as “crazy,” but I don’t think it’s not crazy to do what you love. What’s crazy is pushing what you love to the margins of your life—or even worse, never experiencing them at all.  Whenever the pattern of society that we thought we knew is being disrupted, it feels very confronting to a lot of people. At the times when everything around you feels like it’s going crazy, that’s when you must make a sanity quilt. And you do that in very quiet ways.  Join me for the full episode to learn more about stitching the things you love into your life, so you can cultivate peace, sanity, and calm during even the most challenging times.

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