Weaved into Life

“In everything, give thanks” Paul 1Thesalonians 5:18

I used to do a lot of weavings with art. I would make a perfectly fine picture and then cut it up. Only to take the pieces and weave them together to make something new. Something more complex. Almost always something better.

So, here we go….

I have begun to see the blessings of Covid 19.

Please don’t immediately take offense- deaths are never welcome, especially early ones. Unexpected ones. Tragic ones. But death is inevitable. Mine is inevitable.

But personally, I have begun to give thanks for this crisis. My father pointed out the Chinese character for crisis also is the same symbol for opportunity. I am not sure if this is true but it if it is,how apropos.

How did this crisis change us? What opportunity does it present us?

Without shying away, I looked at my own life. I deeply believe it mirrors most.

I had the chance to look at my relationship with time. Do I treasure it? Am I using it wisely? Does my schedule run me? Do I wrap my identity in what I do, or how busy I am? 

I learned I be a woman unhurried. A woman who does one thing at a time…AND appreciates it.

Wash the plate.

Chop the vegetable.

Read one thing at a time.

I can create a realistic schedule that honors not only my time, but my relationships and my health.

I had the chance to look at my relationship to the earth. Do I honor her resources? Am I truly trying to decrease my carbon print on the world? Do I recognize that what I do now will affect my grandbabies?

I asked honestly, can I use less? Yes, I need less. Less shopping. Less food. Less travel. Less AC. Just Less.

If I can truly live within my needs, I leave enough for the future to fulfill their needs.

I had the chance to look at my health and habits. Because everything I read about this virus shows me that how I treat my body will be reflected in how this virus feeds off my choices.

Can I choose what I put into my body? The food. The toxins. The diet I feed my body AND my mind? Yes, I have the control. I can turn off the news. The incessant chatter. The fear and the anxiety. I can feed myself health. Quiet. Calm. Hope. Trust in God. Fresh real food and drink. Birdsong. Stars. Music. Art. The simple pleasures of the day. It is a gift to accept these into me.

I had the chance to look at my inner and outer life.

I can say no to politicizing everything.

I can be quiet.

I can say no to hurriedness.

I can ALWAYS choose kindness.

I can listen without anticipating what my answer or rebuttal will be.

I can let God into my mind and my heart.

I can enjoy the gifts of the earth and be fine with enough.

I can be generous to those who humble jobs kept me going.

I can choose to LOVE others, and be

a light and a calm in the storms of life.

I pray for our world, for my home country, that we all take this OPPORTUNITY to decide who we want to be as a people and as a country.

One that says no to politicizing everything.

One that chooses at times to be quiet.

One that says no to hurriedness.

One that ALWAYS choose kindness.

One that let God into our minds and hearts.

One that enjoy the gifts of the earth and is fine with enough. One that honors those who have the humble jobs that kept us all going, and one that chooses to have enough personally and be generous so that all can have enough to survive.

One that chooses to LOVE others and becomes a light and a calm in future storms.

Back to the art….

I started weaving again. But this time I chose differently. The cloth from a favorite old tablecloth. The feather from a pet bird that I loved and lost. The palms from my potted plant and part of a necklace from the unexpectedly sweet visit to my son in Peru. The paper from a fellow artist from the studio I had to leave behind. 

I could take all the old and weave something beautiful. Something sacred from all the scraps of the past.

But …I also choose gold threads. They represented my life. My yearning to be a part of something more in my small part in this world. Woven into the fabric of life and time.

Weaved 1

I choose what I would make in this future weaving of life. Cut up the past and weave a new life.

It is my choice.

It is also yours.

I, like Paul, give thanks.

I choose to use this opportunity to weave a kind, health-filled and generous future.

I choose to trust and see this as this opportunity as my chance to live the life that is a part of something beautiful. 

My gold thread will be a part of the whole. It will make it more. Better. Beautiful.

What will you do?