I’ve been thinking a lot about
this slogan this past week. Even on days
when I have not been weaving. But before
I go into that I should explain where the slogan originated.
SAORI –the company, the philosophy, the
weaving style – is built around four slogans.
Some might call them concepts, or tenants or principles. I was taught they were slogans. Might be it’s in how you translate. Might not.
Since I don’t speak Japanese, I’ll go with slogans. These slogans come from Misao Jo, the founder
of SAORI. I’ll have to write more on her
later. And I’m certain that these slogans
will come around often.
Anyway, the slogans:
1. Keep
in mind the differences between what machines can do and what people can do.
2. Explore
with all your might.
3. Weave
with a happy heart.
4. Learn
together as a group.
Simple.
But spend time pondering them, and they are deep. If you want to read more about the 4 slogans, SAORI Worchester has some great thoughts on the, you can read it here. And there are other concepts from SAORI that are equally as deep. But we will get to those another time.
So back to Weaving with a happy
heart. Misao Jo came to this while
weaving. As much as she enjoyed weaving,
the push for perfection and the lack of individual artistic expression in
traditional patterned weaving took the joy out weaving for her. When she set aside those pretexts she wove
with a happy heart.
OK, well most of my fiber weaving
experience has been SAORI. So why was I
thinking about Weaving with a Happy Heart so much this past weekend? Because I was mowing the lawn.
And I was HAPPY about it! Yeah, sure, It might have something to do
with the music in my ears (ear buds in the ears with those big noise reducing
ear protection thingys over top make for some EXCELLENT sound!) , or the fact
that riding a tractor/mower is just plain fun.
But I really think it had to do with the fact that I let go of
pretexts. Who cares if I follow the
mowing rules? As long as ALL the little
blades of grass (and their weedy counterparts) get cut off, I’m good. So I worried less about which way I was supposed
to be going and concentrated on enjoying the experience.
That led me to another thought. If in weaving we WEAVE WITH A HAPPY HEART,
maybe in life we should DO WITH A HAPPY HEART.
I was thinking about that as I washed the dishes. I can’t say that doing dishes brings joy to
my heart, but having a clean kitchen does. (hum, maybe I should think about that while I do the floors . . . .)
But really it’s more than that. It’s living purposely and purposefully living
– with a happy heart. My heart is happy. I hope your's is too.
Very interesting about Misao Jo and what brought her to the style of weaving she does. Your post reminds me of the woman who taught me how to weave. She told me how she enjoyed the process of warping the loom and not just the weaving. I had never thought of that. It stuck with me and has helped me realize how I enjoy the process of some things I do that I thought I only liked the outcome of. It makes life and the things I do so much more fun. I'm still working on the whole floor and house cleaning thing though....I don't like the process of that...yet. ;-) I learned from another weaver to think outside the box to problem solve...using ordinary things for tools, etc. I need to look into Saori weaving. I like the idea of thinking outside the box even more with how I weave. It looks fun. :-)
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