sticky web or comforting blanket?

Good morning Clare,

The power of storms always amazes me.
I love the wind especially. Maybe it has to do with my dreams of flying.
Any tornadoes last night?

I, too, believe that we are in communion with the Earth...
composed of the same elements...arranged in a slightly different orientation.
Our bodies are mostly water.
The cell is a microcosm of the body...it is just a different scale. Each cell is vital to the health of the whole organism. Each cell is specifically differentiated to perform a necessary task.
None are truly dispensable.
There are certain cells that direct and some that follow directions...
all responding to the stresses in their environment at the present.

I've been thinking about the threads that we talked about a while ago.
I've also been reading Brene Brown's book and she uses threads as an analogy throughout.
She said that we are given threads and we can choose to weave a spider's web in which to catch ourselves and others in shame ...
or we can, together, weave a beautiful blanket to comfort and support us.
She also talks about putting events into context to more fully understand our own and others' experiences and shame...
she writes, "We can't unravel the truth without recognizing the threads."
Sometimes those threads are difficult to acknowledge...sometimes they are downright painful...but by gaining perspective and understanding context they are incorporated into the blanket. They will eventually blend into the blanket and become part of the whole.

The weaving or spinning of stories, shared in a community, large or small, is an ancient practice.
The passing of traditions and wisdom through the woven tapestry of story or song is a priceless practice.
Each thread is important to the whole...
each is weak when alone...but together they create a combined strength that can withstand great forces.
But, if one breaks...or is damaged...the whole blanket can unravel...
unless the remainder support it and allow it to heal or repair and recreate the whole...
scarred, but strong.
This is how family should function...
not ignore the weak threads and pretend that the holes throughout aren't really there.

Despite that, all of this makes me tremendously optimistic about the future.
The damage that was done will never be forgotten.
The scars remain for all who have eyes to see them.
But, by spinning our stories together, creating a blanket, we become stronger and more beautiful.
Every time someone says "Me Too" the blanket grows bigger and stronger.

When I wrote The Quilt it was about all of the pieces of my life being put together throughout this lifetime. Some pieces seem enormously important at the time that I am working on them...but turn out to be rather ordinary experiences.
others seem incidental, but then turn out to be tremendously significant to my life.
You never know what the quilt will look like...until it is complete...
then the integrity and beauty of the lifetime will be apparent...
and then, only when appreciated in context....historical...societal...personal.

I am traveling tomorrow...
I will be back on Sunday.
Blessings until then,
Maggie