Mending
Hand made in the Republic of Georgia
Every year I dive deeply into the winter, and there is something about January that is special and always delicious!
I love the time when I can just look at the light of the day and wonder how next morning will awake, maybe grey or raining and always full of the promise of rest.
Coming back from family reunions and celebrations, January offers time to be still and to fast,rest,be.
It is my most precious time of the year where I am enjoying my own company and I get to do some MENDING!
Without really looking I find what needs to be repaired, revived, revisited, rediscovered, a time to get into the space of allowing things to present themselves to me, not just as memories but as feelings and sensations that bring much light into relationships and old slippers both of which being in need of careful attention!
Mending is related to finding what needs support and paying attention, remembering where the weak silk threads are and weaving some new ones back in, so it gets strong again
When paying attention to our relationships with friends and family, mending comes from a place of goodwill and hope, of a future where we can laugh at what was fraying and no longer serving its purpose. Here we can make golden repairs and watch the beauty return to what has been mended.
Can you imagine pausing to mend together?
I imagine how the lobster and crab fishermen would spend their winter days; preparing and mending their Withy pots, ready for the good weather to return so they could go to sea again. It was hard but they weren't lonely - people would get together and help each other to mend!
A little story came to me while writing this , an image a wish, here it is:
The Comfort of Mended Bonds:
She could feel the soft sound of the fire and the warmth in the yurt as the light of burning wood filled the air. Around the fire two figures are sitting in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Maybe their relationship strained and frayed like an old, worn-out pair of slippers, but as the dark came, the tension dissipated and every now and then a soft chuckle would escape one of them, followed by a genuine smile. The world of thought and misunderstanding was slowly crumbling.
She reached over and picked up a worn, threadbare slipper that had been for long time forgotten on the floor, she examined it, her fingers tracing over the patches already mended and the sewn seams.
“You know” she said” these slippers have been with me through many many things they have witnessed tears and laughter, arguments and reconciliations, they have always been there in our journey”
Her friend smiled, while memories of shared moments came softly into their mind. “ our relationship is like these slippers, it has been worn down and sometimes even torn apart but also it has been repaired and made stronger”
Traveling deep into the night song they sat in silence with a soft heart embraced by mended bonds wrapping around them like a cozy well loved pair of slippers and although they had not idea about what life would bring, they found strength in knowing that they could travel together one step at a time.
This food for the heart can’t be bought or borrowed, this is the fabric of true companion.
