THE community is invited to the inaugural meeting of the ‘Muddles’, a chance for likeminded folk to gather in nature to dawdle, wander, connect and create. Held over the weekend of March 22 and 23, the gathering will include a free light lunch, tea and coffee at Out of Town Nursery and Humming Garden on 980 Beechworth/Chiltern Rd, surrounded by the Mount Pilot National Park. Organiser Gavin Doherty described the event as an opportunity to learn how to dawdle and wander again, finding and collecting elements for an afternoon of “making stuff”. “You can work with others or on your own,” he said. “It will be days without plans, without restrictions, and no interest in skills and finishing with something prettier than everyone else did. “The good outcome is not the object created, but the mindless time making it and the best outcome is something that is incomplete and you long to finish.” Gavin said the idea behind the event is to use nature and art to relieve stresses and issues. "I have always be an 'evangelist' for the benefits to the soul in being out in nature," he said. "I heard a psychiatrist who is head of happiness.com say that an hour "wandering randomly" in nature was better than an hour with a good therapist, and how do you find, let alone pay for a good therapist. "So it seems like a no-brainer to me. "We have open space and nature, so why not share it." This inaugural weekend event is free of charge to gauge the interest from the community. Gavin said hopefully it is just the first step. “I don’t know if it will be called the Muddles but hopefully some class of a group grows out of these days,” he said. “It could be beginning of something beautiful.” For more information or to book in, contact Gavin at outoftown6@bigpond.com.
