Day 33: Learning Together

It’s early morning and I’m sitting in the dark with the fragrance of a tea light burning beside me and the satisfaction of having selected the green colour and fir scent myself. Last night I attended a candle making workshop at a local shop. I can’t remember the last time I learned something new in a group setting. When I want to learn something, I’ve gotten into the habit of consulting YouTube. I watch a few videos and I figure it out on my own. It can be very effective.

But learning something in a group is a completely different experience. Not only were we learning from the instructors but we were also learning from each other. Mistakes were public and  It was fun combining scents and seeing what other people chose that I would never have thought of using together.

Questions were answered in real time. There was no need to pause a video or listen to a poorly timed ad in the middle of the task. And under the watchful eye of the professionals problems were averted before they needed to be corrected.

There were times when we had to line up to fill our pots with hot soy wax. Those moments gave us time to chat with each other or the instructors.

I came home with all my candles, two Christmas gifts crossed off my list, and a smile on my face thinking about how much fun we had together. A screen free evening that left me feeling really connected to my community. I could have figured it out on my own but it wouldn’t have been nearly as fun.