I spend a lot of time thinking about Design. Color, shape, texture, symmetry, proportion, balance, repetition, contrast, and rhythm. I’m constantly looking for them, my brain making connections and finding patterns, constantly seeking evidence of some underlying sense of order around me. It’s how my mind works, and it’s so ingrained that sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing it.
What I’ve noticed recently, though, is evidence of a grander Design in my life in general. It feels like my entire life so far has been spent creating something. I’ve never been entirely sure of what it is I’m creating, I’m still not. But something is starting to emerge and take shape. And it’s apparent that I’ve been slowly, methodically, and systematically weaving the slender thread of Design throughout my life. I’m starting to see evidence of an underlying order or interconnectedness that supports all the various parts and pieces of my life. A common thread weaving it all together, gliding seamlessly from one part to the next, each separate, but also intricately intertwined. The experiences I have, the memories I make, the people I interact with, the beliefs I carry, the belongings I surround myself with, all of it is coming into focus as a single work of art. A million tiny strokes that look independent of one another when viewed close-up, but with a little distance and perspective you see the full effect.
Like a tapestry.
I catch glimpses of Order here and there, amidst the chaos, and have a moment of clarity.
I achieve Balance for a brief time between work and home life, and it feels great.
I recognize Patterns and Repetitions in my behavior and thought processes that I’ve never been aware of before, and I’m stunned how I could have missed something so obvious.
These things flash into my consciousness long enough for me to see the big picture momentarily. Then they get blurred and I’m left holding the individual strands again, wondering how everything fits together.
I’ve been creating a tapestry life all along, and I’m fascinated by it. We all are creating a tapestry life. I think it just takes some age and experience before we can finally start to see it take shape. Evidence of this shows up everywhere, in ways both large and small. Like meeting an old friend for lunch and reminiscing about old times, or using my hand-me-down Christmas decorations because they remind me of my childhood, or wearing my Mamaw’s earrings long after she’s gone. These are small things. But I also see evidence of this in the larger things. Like writing articles about my struggles with fear and insecurity in hopes that my story may help someone else. Or teaching my kids about music and art and design because I want them to share my appreciation for the arts. Or reading bible stories to them at night so they have the same faith base that I had growing up.
What a beautiful concept this is! That we get this lifetime as an opportunity to create our very own unique work of art. This masterpiece is made up of every single thing we ever do — every action we take, every thought we have, all of it. How cool that eventually all of this strategic design effort starts to take shape into something whole and recognizable and uniquely our own.
And what’s even better, we get to choose what we weave into this masterpiece. We get to pull in new and exciting colors or change the design mid-stream if we choose. We also get to pull strands from our own childhoods forward to make sure they are visible in the design. We get to weave in what is important to us, what we want to highlight from our own childhoods and pass onto our kids. It’s a work in progress, ever-changing and fluid.
