Handwork as Soulwork

In a recent letter Holly Wren Spaulding mentioned what she calls embodied and improvisational tools including slowness, benevolent company, quiet, rest, space, and courage. Holly’s spacious improvisations overlap with my own reasons for loving handwork.

My life and work as a mother and homeschooler is filled with the 10,000 things that need doing. I work on embroidery projects to give definition to my time off. I don’t want it to slip away because I have failed to pay attention. And yet I’m looking for a way to step away from obligation and requirements.

Embroidery stills the insistent voices in my head and in our world that says we need to do more, we need to consume more, we need to be more.

For a few minutes each day I claim my sovereignty.

By choosing to slow down, to be quiet, to rest, I create a space where courage becomes possible.

Click here to see all the Listening to My Life :: Homeschooling an MFA in Poetry posts.