Making New Connections

The tagline I have here at The Fight With Depression is, “Supporting individuals in enhancing their mental wellbeing by fostering new skills, providing education, and offering encouragement.” One of the outings I host is creating knife handles using various styles of blades and handle materials.

When I was teaching a crew of firefighters, who got off their shift that morning, I also met the crew working that day. One of the gentlemen from that crew reached out to me recently and asked if I could host a day with a few people. His son was having a birthday, and he wanted to provide him with an opportunity to create a knife, alongside a few other gentlemen who are a fundamental part of his life.

Two Are Better Than None

Unfortunately, they were running into scheduling issues, and they couldn’t make it work with everyone. Instead of canceling, he decided to make it a father-son day and asked if I would be okay with that. I told him I would be more than happy.

The Fun Begins

Of course, we started out catching up with a bit of chit-chat. We headed to the workshop where they selected the knife blades and handles that they wanted to use. Then we began the real work. I’ve created videos and posts about the process, so I won’t go into details here.

During our lunch break, he asked me why I do what I do, which led to a great conversation. I explained to him that it all began with my drive to help people who struggle with mental illness. This progressed to the website that I created, and during that process, I realized how much learning a new skill can can improve mental health. It isn’t just me who feels this. Whenever I host an outing, there is a great feeling that is shared among the group.

What It’s All About

But when someone learns a skill they can take home, whether it’s an idea, a concept, or a skill, they keep it with them. And I think it’s because of this that I enjoy these knife making outings. I get to see the excitement from the people learning as they create something. It’s something that each time they use it, they can remember that they created it with their own hands.

It may see a little creepy 😳,  but I often stand back and just watch with a smile on my face. It’s probably good that most of my face is covered by a mask.

We finished our lunch and went back to work. And this father and son duo finished creating their individual knives. They left with their new knives and new memories. And I ended up with some new friends.