I was looking for a topic for the women’s group I lead, and the word of the day in the Daily Word booklet I subscribe to was Weave. And I love this word.
For the actual weavers of the world, I do weave sometimes, using yarn I have hand-spun from my sheep’s wool, but I have a long, long way to go before I’d consider myself good at it. For one thing, when I get about ¾ of the way through warping my giant rigid heddle loom, using the other end of the dining table with the pin fixed to it to wrap my yarn around, … the whole loom levitates off the floor and I have to run around looking for books and hand weights and anything else to keep it from popping up in the air and flying over to meet the far end of the table! Not great. I seem to be doing it too tight, and even though I have done it several times, I have not mastered the levitating loom problem yet.
And maybe that’s a good analogy for how we sometimes approach life, making it harder than it needs to be, trying to control different aspects of our lives too much, so much that we create unwanted tension.
The Daily Word says My life is like an intricate tapestry. There are threads of all kinds, of various colors and textures. Woven together they create a design unlike any other, a beautiful and ever-evolving work of art.
I have a lot of compassion for the things I have woven or crocheted. I finish the project and reflect on the areas of beauty as well as the blatant mistakes and I just think … well, it’s hand made! That is just how it goes. It’s a special kind of perfect!
But in life, it can be hard to be compassionate with ourselves in that way can’t it? We see the errant strand that we’d like to pull out, but we can’t because to do that would unravel everything else. We see the unevenness-es and wish everything were just so. We notice we didn’t tie the fringe quite right, and there are little knots in the yarn here and there that aren’t totally perfect. And we wish it were different, more perfect.
So, what if each time these beautiful woven lives of ours seem imperfect, we could simply say to ourselves … It’s hand made! Made on the loom of this Life that God gave me. Inspired by the beautiful spirit I have which is connected to all life. Worked with these hands, in partnership with the instructions that have guided me, spoken to my heart, and encouraged me in taking the next step and the next? Maybe we could see how the colors and the textures, the perfection and the mistakes, all come together to make us and our lives exactly as they are meant to be, and look with compassion, and gladness at ourselves and these lives we co-create.
What are you weaving into the beautiful masterpiece, the unique and perfect tapestry of your life?
If you would like to come to Shepherd’s Knoll Farm to have some life coaching with Katherine, please text her at: 770-335-0025. Remote sessions via zoom or phone options are available as well!
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