What is a masterpiece without the mess.

Sewing... the mess. the pins. the holes. the unpicking…the masterpiece!

May 10, 2023

What is a masterpiece without the mess?
What is the creative expression without the colour?
What is the knitted garment without the unraveling?

What is patience
and what is commitment?
What is kindness
and what is depth?

Why do we choose the surface when we can go deep?
Why do we hold the knots when we can undo?

What is a masterpiece without the mess?
What is the creative expression without the colour?
Who are we without the unraveling?

What is real and what is fake?
What is true and what are lies?
Who am I and who are you?

What is a masterpiece without the mess?

I wrote a piece of writing last week called Stitch. By Stitch. By Stitch where I shared my love for sewing and the gift my Mumma gave me… this weeks writing piece is a follow on from that… What is a masterpiece without the mess.

When I use my hands in something physical - like sewing - for you it might be gardening, cooking, weaving, playing the drums, even ironing or washing the dishes -

I integrate.
I process.
I day dream.
I breathe out.
I stop.
I pause.
I re-evaluate.
I journey.
I chat, in the land beyond Here and There.

Sewing is a JOURNEY OF COMMITMENT

It is a journey of love, passion and evaluation. It is a process. It requires patience. It is at times incredibly frustrating and yet the colours, the materials and the stitches are something so much greater.

Sewing enables me TO STEP INTO THE ZONE

It allows the energies around me to expand until it just becomes me and the shimmer of something greater.

My brother, was once auditioning for a band as a drummer. He won the audition because "Wow! you were so in the ZONE!" As he played people saw his “Masterpiece” and were in awe.

The "Zone!” “The Masterpiece!” - it is that place where time stops and your inner cells expand and you step beyond the Here into the There, and your whole world, for that moment in time, shifts and becomes something else,
something more,

something words are unable to define.

To get to the “zone,” to the “masterpiece,” we are asked to learn 7 things:

i. We learn to be PATIENT

Realising that we have to pin the whole hem first before we can sew it. Realising that we have to pause and consider before we cut and destroy.

Realising that healing is akin to walking a labyrinth - sometimes we feel as though we are walking towards the center, sometimes it feels as though we are walking away from it - all the while we know that we are actually walking one path and that one path will eventually lead us to where we need to go. Patience.

ii. We learn to PRACTICE

Once we have learnt a new sewing skill, we have to practice that new skill. Once we have a healing we have to practice/integrate that new way of being in the world.

We begin to understand a new way to relate to ourselves. We begin to understand new ways of reacting and responding to the wider world.

To practice,
we integrate.

To integrate,
we empower.

When we practice a skill, a new way of being in the world, it moves it from being a theoretical idea, to a real embodied idea; from a picture in a sewing book or in our minds, to a tactile masterpiece in front of us.

It goes from just being out there,
to a tangible new way of being in the world.

We practice so that our mind, body and soul can truly understand the nuances of that new skill, and this in turn creates a deeper cellular understanding.

And, yes, in that time of practice mistakes are make, more mess is created and a deeper commitment to our work, and our lives, are being taken.

iii. We learn to EMBRACE THE MESS

Healing like sewing invites mess. Deep healing is never tidy. It constantly brings things to the surface to sort, gently hold, mend, re-organise, let go of and heal. It turns you inside out and upside down, and washes you (in the depth of your tears!) and lays you gently (or not!) in a new way of being.

Sometimes healing, can be gentle and soothing - like holding a child’s blankie and placing it softly on your cheek.

Other times though, when the healing is deep and raw, and emotional and old,
and our mindset isn't as fluid as our soul wishes, it is like a needle that constantly pricks the same spot over and over,

and

OVER

again.

And yet, when we speak to someone who can listen without judgement, who can say a word or three that makes us think, ponder and reflect, we can learn to re-guide that needle without it hurting, and we learn to see the colours, treasures and wisdom in the mess.

iv. We learn to SIT WITH OURSELVES

Sitting in that exquisite "zone" of the Here and There is so expanding and awe inspiring that we become so content and happy in our own company.

Other times sitting with ourselves is uncomfortable and we wished we had a Silent Companion or a Wise Companion, or a Funny Companion to share that space with us.

Yet sometimes the sitting with ourselves shows us that there IS a Silent Stalwart Guardian and a Wise Old Sage, and a Fool and that they all live within,

and then sitting with ourselves becomes easier and softer.

v. We learn to HONOUR OUR EMOTIONS

When we realise that the “short cut” really isn’t the most practical or the most reliable and

YES WE HAVE TO UNPICK IT AGAIN!!!!

We are humans. We get frustrated, annoyed, anxious, upset and…

emotions rise. The frustrations surface. The broad spectrum of everything comes to the surface

Emotions are like material.
Some soft and comforting,
others stiff and coarse.

Some emotions we are happy to wear,
other emotions we choose to “ignore” and “not even see” despite them being on the same shelf.

vi. We learn to HEAL DEEPLY

Sometimes the mending pile never seems to end. It feels as though every piece of material is falling apart. Sometimes our energies feel that way too. Sometimes we feel fragmented and we feel lost. Sometimes we need someone to guide us, teach us, sit with us and hold our hands as we navigate a deeply challenging time, helping us mend our holes with compassion and gentleness, awareness and honour.

Once this happens we can wear our once torn jeans with pride.

When we heal and mend,
We change.

vii. We learn to TRUST

What if I cut the material too short?
What if the colours don’t really match?
What if it feels good yet it looks too “out there and odd”?
What if folks laugh at my new fashion style?

What if I have a creative block?
What if I’m “not as good” as my peers?

Will my tribe make fun of me if I wear these new clothes or take up a new way of being in the world?
Will my peers ignore me if I step away from sewing “that way” and choose to sew “this way”?

What would happen if I slowed down enough to listen to the silence beyond, exploring my newly sewn stitches in more depth, exploring my heart and soul in more colourful ways?

We question, and in the questioning we learn to hear the inner voice of our hearts and the resonance of truth,
and we learn to slowly believe in ourselves.

Sewing is a healing process.

It is slow and conscious.

It is breathing in and breathing out.

It is making mistakes and being aware.

It is pricking our fingers and unpicking the stitches.

It is putting it down and picking it up again.

It is moving to a better light and leaving it alone.

It is coming back to it
Over and over again.

And then what would happen my friend when you do begin to create that masterpiece?

You begin to dream again.

You begin to sing your song.

You skip instead of slump.

You hold yourself in a new way.

You honour your emotions because you now realise they are keys to magical doorways.

You sail your boat, because being out there in the vastness is so freeing and breathtaking, and is more real and alive than being on a shore that stifles.

You proudly wear your "new clothes" patched with love and acceptance, peace and hope, and your peers smile and ask "Where did you get them?"

You hug yourself and love yourself and become proud of the new song you drummed out, the new masterpiece you sewed and the new inner pathways you explored, discovered and befriended.

You become so filled with this newness that your light makes others ask "What have you been doing?!"

And what did you do?

You mindfully stitched,
by stitched,
by stitched,

creating an ever changing masterpiece that is otherwise known as

YOU.

Much love to you my dear friend,
as you mend and heal, sew and unpick,

stitch
by stitch
by stitch.

Until we meet again, in the mess and the unpicking,
and the dreams and the hopes.

Blessed Be

Sam x