Stitching a life

Photo by Stephane Gagnon on Unsplash

We are weavers.

The people, places, things, and situations we experience are the threads we intertwine to create our life.

We take on beliefs and stories early in our childhood and throughout our lives that establish patterns through which we weave our threads.  These add color and texture to our life.

I like to think of these threads as adding interesting elements to our personal tapestries.

Significant people, situations, or beliefs may appear as glimmers of gold or silver. Or they may appear as deep iridescent shimmering greens, blues, and purples like those we might see in the outstretched plume of a peacock or the brilliant array of promise as seen in the oranges, yellows, and pinks in a sunrise or sunset.  Or they may be thick, darker threads that create patterns resulting in gaps or yarn twisted so tight they appear to be knotted.

I remember one time in my life when I attempted to learn to knit.   I was newly married and felt it was high time I learned something truly domesticated.  I signed up for a knitting class at a small local yarn shop.   While I’ll leave the bulk of this story for another time,  let’s say knitting didn’t come naturally to me.  Each week I would return with the knitting I had done since the last class, proud of how many inches I had added to my sweater during the week, only to have my teacher rip almost everything I had done because of an earlier error in my stitching.

“But one had to go back to the beginning of things, always. Trace the thread of life - find the knot - untangle it.”  Martha Ostenso  

I learned a valuable lesson.

We can go back to unknot the twisted parts.  We have to make an effort to find the knots and decide to untwist them ourselves.  It’s not easy, but it is definitely possible.

We can also choose to leave the imperfections there but learn from them so we don’t repeat them later in the stitching. 

You see, the thing to remember is that we are the weaver.  Ultimately it is up to us what we make of these threads and how we blend them together.  It is up to us what patterns we want in our lives.  What beliefs serve us now?  What people, places, and things do we enjoy most?  We are the weavers of our own stories.

“Work with love, it is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart.”  Khalil Gibran, The Prophet. 

I like to think of my tapestry as one that is quite interesting.  I have many thick, even tragic twisty elements that writhe with super shiny, sparkly bits.  It is unique to me—my own design.  Despite the terrifying and traumatic parts of my life, I wouldn’t weave it any other way, for it has brought me to where I am today.

I’ve come to appreciate all the threads of my life.  The more I’ve understood the patterns of my past – those that have brought me to where I am in my tapestry so far -- the clearer the design becomes that I seek to weave in my future.

Creating the fabric of our lives with hundreds of individual pieces of yarn or thread is magical.

What are you making with your threads?  What is it you are weaving?   Do you need to unravel a bit to gain clarity about what you want for your future?