Sometimes finding peace is as simple as pressing a button.
Sometimes finding peace is as simple as pressing a button.
For UVU ceramics student April Kleven, returning to class following the events of September 10 was stressful, but it held an opportunity to uplift. She brought each of her classmates a small piece of clay she crafted and called a “pause button.” An individual can hold the piece of clay between their index finger and thumb to reset and refocus.
“I just wanted to unify, do something to help bring peace and unity into that room,” Kleven said.
Her classmates responded with gratitude for the gesture. “There just was an overall feeling of, like, ‘We're gonna be okay,’ you know? And that was what I was hoping,” Kleven said.
Kleven first conceived of her pause buttons during a stressful experience caring for her entire family during the COVID-19 pandemic. She felt overwhelmed and wished for some way to metaphorically hit pause on her life. The inspiration came to her to create her own physical pause button using her ceramics equipment. After some rudimentary attempts, she eventually settled on an oblong concave piece of clay slightly larger than an individual's thumb, glazed in beautiful colors and kiln-fired to create a soothing, smooth texture.
Kleven said when her sister-in-law held an early prototype, she said it felt like “a little hug for my thumb.”
“It’s basically kind of a twist on an old idea called a worry stone…But I didn't want to call it a worry stone because I don't want to worry,” Kleven said. “So I thought that if I called it a pause button, then that directs people's minds to what its purpose is, [which is] to pause for peace and to reclaim and recalibrate yourself to have peace.”
Upon returning to class, Kleven walked around to each classmate and quietly handed out small canvas bags containing her pause buttons. Included in each bag was a note explaining the purpose of the pause button.
“I think that's what stuck out to me the most…was just how quietly she did it,” Kleven’s classmate Kali Myers said. “The other beautiful thing was to have someone I didn't know be so mindful of even the mere potential of what I could be feeling or experiencing that she felt like I needed a little gift.”
When asked what advice she would give to others who are trying to uplift those around them, Kleven talked about the importance of being yourself and using your unique skill set.
“There's always gonna be stuff that happens that you don't have control over, but you always have power to choose peace,” Kleven said.
