sometimes found...

i've been thinking a lot about this ragged cloth lately. well, perhaps not immediately about the cloth itself, but about the emotion that seems to emanate from its fibers. there isn't anything particularly amazing about it. no fabulously wonderful fabrics were used. the crazy stitching is decidedly lacking in the "crazy" department as the creator used only two different stitches. even then, they were executed with a quiet innocence, not masterful skill. the backing is a dark flannel with little outstanding character. the batting too thick. rather than being beautifully quilted, it is plainly tied. there are chunks missing here and there as it was obviously used by someone else as a cutter. it is not an ugly cloth...but a decidedly...average...cloth.  marked  by its journeys and tribulations. tired. lost in a world that reveres youth, blind beauty, and skill.

oh, i'm sure that along the way this tattered cloth was was sometimes found by a kind heart or two. loved. allowed to embrace someone and bring comfort. provide warmth. just as it was also clearly used. abused. tossed on the floor. dragged about by uncaring fingers. put away in a musty trunk. forgotten again. later to be discarded. elated to be found once again by adoring eyes, only to find out those eyes harbored different ideas before cutting into its flesh with shears. tearing bits away from the cloth's filament to be repackaged into something else. distorted. the admiration aborted now that it was no longer whole.

truth be told, even i cast a speculative gaze upon this cloth with thoughts about how i might chop it up and utilize its lingering simple grace in something new. different. had given thought to what might not be salvageable for my own ends and what to do with the remains. but found this cloth to be filled with a gentle whispering. and, listening to these murmurings, can no longer bring myself to malign its nature further. this cloth deserves love and honor for its own sake. not for what i or anyone else can turn it into. there are plenty of other cloths about that would...and will...rejoice at being re-imagined. re-invented. re-purposed. but not this cloth. this cloth has integrity and wishes to continue to love and provide warmth.

i will listen closely. divine its yearnings and allow it to be what it longs to be. help it realize these dreams where i can. honor its life and will be simply be.

i understand this cloth more than you might know. as we travel through this life, there is an affinity residing between those things that wind their way into our lives and our own hearts... i wonder if i will some day be afforded a similar place in someone's life? honored. loved. allowed to be as i am. cherished for who that is...

isn't it odd where hope can be sometimes found...

namaste'

ed. note:  8/27 - 9:30 a.m.:  

gah! obviously, i need to stop watching romantic comedies and listening to adelle while working these long, lonely night shifts! ha!