Weaving In Ends

The woven ends (and ends and ends) go on (and on). The Mitered Square Sweater has 44 squares, each bringing it's own tail dragging behind it. That is quite a few pieces of yarn to weave. For the most part it's satisfying work, while it seems to go on for way too long, it does make a dramatic difference in the appearance of the back of the knitted work. Neat. Clean. Tied up and tidy. Ahhhhhh!

If only it were as easy to tie up the loose ends in life, to take the bits and pieces threaded on a needle and weave them into the past, or carry them into the future. We surely do try, don't we?

Spirituality seems like those loose ends for me right now, oddly enough. I didn't grow up in church but became very religious in my late 20's. By very religious I mean that I aligned myself with the Christian faith, attended Bible studies and even taught many over the years. I was always in church and very active in the various churches I attended over the years. If the opportunity to look back exists for me now I would have to say that I erred on the side of caution, that is I chose a very narrow road that many might call moral high ground. In any event, I truly believe that whenever you say "never", or make really biiiiiiig life statements, the universe tosses into your lap the very thing you ran from. They become loose ends and it falls to you to weave them back in. You can run from them by cutting them off but they'll only unravel and leave a big hole when you live a little. Or you can very carefully and with great thought decide on how to knit them in. With a strand from your current situation and the strand of the old end you can devise a very good weave, serviceable and strong.

The practice of yoga, and Reiki as well as things from other faith cultures have shaped the wrong side of my work these days. Yoga has taught me flexibility in body and soul, Reiki has taught me about healing and connection with Divine. Things like Tibetan Prayer Flags have taught me that maybe, just maybe my religiosity didn't have all the answers and that it was just perhaps a bit egotistical and bold to say that my way was the only way.

I continue to grow spiritually, knitting is part of that. Each stitch is part of a greater body of work that creates a web of thoughts, prayers and bits, each leaning on each other to form an item of even greater worth.

I have a pile of yarn ends now, after carefully knitting them into the project and weaving them in a bit, they were free to be cut off, removed from the project. What to do with those colorful bits that have outlived their purpose? As in life, I suspect that there is something to be said about them. I'll be thinking of a proper and mindful use for them.