Shifting Perspective

When things might not be as bad as they look

I’m putting aside pride, accepting imperfection, and sharing a photo of this tapestry that I’ve been working on. As the weaving progressed off and on over these past few weeks, I have become increasingly dissatisfied with it and somewhat puzzled by both the direction it was taking and my reaction to it. My original vision of a light-filled field of spring flowers tumbling down to the ocean got sidetracked and became a dark, awkward, and unprofessional mess. (That’s just my opinion; no need to soothe my humbled feathers because that’s not the point of this post.)

Yesterday, I realized that this work is a product of the intensely dark emotions I was feeling while working on it over the past month or so: anger, worry, fear, sadness, weariness, creeping depression. Last evening, I had an impulsive urge to trash the whole thing, salvaging as much of the yarn as possible. But I live with a counterbalance to my impulsivity — although a soon-to-be 55-year marriage is a reminder of what can happen when our impulsivity overlaps! At any rate, he suggested I put it aside for awhile and come back to it with fresh eyes. He was right because, this morning, my mood and perspective have shifted after the first reasonable sleep in weeks and, as imperfect as the piece is, it doesn’t seem quite as awful as it did. Like many other not-so-perfect things in life, I can live with it…and perhaps even tweak it for the better.

I’d try to write in a more articulate way about the obvious attitudinal metaphor there and about the value of working with our hands, but I’m off now to finish the tapestry. If nothing else, it will serve as a good reminder of the importance of shifting perspective. May you all see some light today.