So, one of the things that knitting does for me is that it gives me a lot of practice in facing reality. As I said to my lovely husband, it's hard to lie to yourself with knitting. You've either done it correctly, or you haven't. It's either 5 inches, or it isn't. You've either done the yarn over, or you've forgotten it. Now, an error doesn't necessarily mean a do-over. I can compensate for some errors. Not all, of course. As I've mentioned before, I do have my error threshold, and once I pass it, I need to redo or I'm just not going to be happy with the finished product. But, the thing is what it is.
This is very good practice for life. At the conference I went to in May, with the Dalai Lama, there was discussion about compassion and wisdom, as if they are the two wings of a bird. Without both, you can't fly. Wisdom in the Buddhist tradition, as I understand it, is related to seeing things as they actually are. For me, this is not always easy, as the world is often other than how I wish it were. Knitting allows me a wonderful practice in facing things are they are.
And now I have to reknit the damn project because a 1/2 inch too big is a 1/2 inch too big.
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2 comments:
hear hear! knitting teaches also focus and patience... and that no ammount of tugging or glaring or swearing is going to fix that dropped stitch five rows ago...
I wish your month turns out better... a
It is a good lesson in reality, isn't it? I love the demands that lace places on my focus - I really have to count and be present in the moment of creation or else I just screw up!!!
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