Why Are Crafts Soothing?

No matter what you do with your hands, most of you will admit it is soothing, calming. But why? Is it the repetition? In pottery, the wheel turns, guiding the pot within your hands, round and round. Or weaving, or crocheting, or knitting. Row after row, or round after round. Painting, carpentry, even candy-making. Doing the same thing, over and over, is hypnotic.
Many people say the feel of a train makes them sleepy, cozy. Many times I dozed off on a bus or a subway car, the hum of the motors, the wheels turning, repetition. Working our crafts is similar, in a way. Not as strongly - we rarely fall asleep when we are working with our crafts because we are paying too much attention to our project.
Then is it the concentration? By focusing on our work, we tune out the world, tune out our worries and fears. For those moments, minutes, hours, we have something else to think about. How often have we been engrossed in a project only to realize how much time has passed and we almost forgot to take care of one of our tasks?
Maybe it’s a combination - the repetition and the concentration, both. I’ve talked here before about the calming effect of handcrafts but I never before wondered why it is so. Maybe we really don’t need to know why; perhaps we should just relax and enjoy it.
Dear Father, thank you for guiding me to the skills that help me take my mind off my troubles.