what counts as creation?

 I just read a post about the "four cs" - create, consume, cavort (movement), community - and how they shape our well-being. I love it! what is it about our brains that love little lists and reminders of how to take care of ourselves? hah. But what counts as creation? Do my little blog posts count? (That's why I'm making one - because I feel blah and I'm hoping creating something and setting it free into the world will help me feel more fulfilled.) Or should I finally crack open that writing I've been thinking about? Crochet a granny square? Do a doodle/coloring page? I know creating takes many forms, and I do enjoy blogging, but I'm not exactly certain what "counts." What in the brain lights up with creation? I don't believe it's chores, though definitely they do come with a certain satisfaction, and having a clean space is certainly beneficial for mental (and probably physical) health. 

Tangent time! I saw a video of my mom, two years post-stroke, pushing a tissue across her little table with her left hand. She hasn't really been able to move her left side much, so it was pretty awesome to watch her do it three separate times (though she had to reset her left hand with her right). And also, it made me so deeply sad. I feel like a horrible human for mourning my mom, but who she was before and who she will be going forward, even if she ever fully recovers, will never be the same. I still love talking to her, and aside from a few bad days when I've visited where she couldn't really hold a conversation, she still feels like mom... sort of. I do find myself doing "parenting" things with her - reassuring, repeating, exaggerating expressions/movements/voices - which can be exhausting. But it feels worth it to have a meaningful connection with my mom again... I don't know. It's so horrible because I know a woman whose mom died from a stroke, so I'm incredibly lucky to have her, and still have a connection with her, but I don't know - it's more like she's my grandma now. Older, less personal, kind of a strain on the family, where she used to be the support system. I think that's where I feel the guiltiest - I don't just miss her support, do I?? 

Anyway so I was okay before, for a little, and now I'm sad. So I'm hoping writing it down helps me think through it. Is thinking creating?? It doesn't seem like it. Maybe I should........ do something else. Yeah, I should try a different method. I bet cooking counts as creating, but I don't enjoy that anymore :( which also makes me SO sad because like... I have to. And the ones I still kind of enjoy doing, like making cookies, take energy I need for making "real" food, and make a mess that I'm too tired to clean up so then my dishes and counters are still dirty, preventing me from making more. Sigh. I'll be all right eventually, I think. 

Oh I was also thinking, I wonder if video games feel nice because they simulate a lot of those Cs? Especially like Stardew Valley, where it's like... ALL the Cs. That might be it. But even if it feels good, does it benefit the brain the same way as physically accomplishing Cs?