Saturday, January 14, 2012

Prayer Flag #1 is finished!  It features the first 2 stitches Sharon posted for the TAST Challenge:  fly stitch and button hole stitch.  Of course, there are other stitches, too, but I tried several variations of each of the posted stitches.
The flag is a prayer for a fresh start for the new year, but works equally well for a fresh start for each new day.

"As to those for whom to work hard, to begin and begin again, to attempt and be mistaken, to go back and rework everything from top to bottom, and still find reason to hesitate from one step to the next--as to those, in short, for whom to work in the midst of uncertainty and apprehension is tantamount to failure, all I can say is that clearly we are not from the same planet."  --Michel Foucault


I do begin and begin again, each day.  New chances, new opportunities.  I attempt and am mistaken about so many things; I hesitate from one step to the next; I am working, always, in the midst of uncertainty and apprehension.  Every day, in every thing I do.  And so I feel fortunate to be from the same planet as Michel Foucault.

Getting it right the first time and every time?  Who does that?  Beginning again is my mantra.  Trying and failing happens every day in so many ways.  Making the attempt is success.


That's why I love beginning and beginning again.  I love fresh starts.  Each day is an opportunity.  I try not to get to upset that I've tried to be better organized for most of my life (without much success), that I fail at being nonjudgmental, that I'm hesitant about so many things, that I procrastinate like crazy, all the failings that I'm willing to reveal and more that I am not.  I have another chance to do better tomorrow.  I don't mean this as an excuse, but as a hope to do better.    As Alexander Pope reminded us, "hope springs eternal" and "we are created half to rise, and half to fall." 


Begin and begin again.  Make a fresh start.  A prayer for the new year and for each new day.
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7 comments:

  1. Wonderful prayer flag and wonderful words! Have a lovely weekend.

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  2. Very nice...very important message :)

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  3. Great post, and a good reminder! I love the way this turned out, and it was fun to see all the variations of the BH stitch that you used. I agree, Carpe diem!

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  4. I love everything about this flag!! Wonderful!

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  5. Yep, every day is a brand new day! Beautiful prayer flag. Can't wait to see it hanging with many others in your yard!

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  6. Thanks, ladies! I love the meditative feeling of taking these stitches. The prayer flags are a great way to practice and to work on a project I've had in mind for quite a while.

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Good to hear from you!