As a Maker and as a Human, we come across opportunities often to decide if we will work on our perfectionist tendencies or allow things to be what they are and move on.
This pillow is the most recent creation at Spirit of Drakaina - it found it's home last week :) Thank you to AL for giving it a home, and for sending me the picture! If you're a crocheter, and maybe even if you're not, you may see there's a pretty big mistake on this pillow that interrupts the aesthetic. While creating the pillow, I was several rows past the mistake before I saw it and spent a considerable amount of time deciding whether I should pull out the rows and fix it or continue on. With crochet projects, it's a bit easier to pull out all the work one has done and fix a mistake than it is with some other projects. :) [How many people have tried woodworking and cut something 1/8" too short? 🙋♀️ <-- super frustrating!] The deciding factor was the deadline for this project, so I left the mistake alone. Once a Maker leaves the flaw alone, it becomes very easy to only see the flaw and not the whole picture. :/ The questions constantly run through our minds - is the piece ruined because of the mistake? Will others see it? How does it detract from the project, if at all? Is it worth the time to start over? Is there a way to fix it without starting over? And right down the rabbit hole we go :)
While discussing this the other day, I was told that maybe the "flaws" in the work should be my "signature". Almost every crochet project I've ever made has a mistake somewhere - some easier to see than others. And if the finished project doesn't have mistakes now, it's a result of pulling out hours worth of work to start over - or being thrown in a closet for months (or years!) until I decide to try it again. :/ Superstition even has it, that Makers of old would intentionally put a flaw in their creations - as each of our creations carry a bit of our Soul in them, the "flaw / intentional mistake" allows that piece of us to come back out. <3 (reference links are in the comments :) )
So how does this pertain to us as Humans? How often have you looked in the mirror and only saw the flaws you perceive? Have you ever asked yourself "does anyone else see these mistakes" or "am I not a good person because of xyz"?
I won't lie, having someone suggest that I should accept the flaws as my signature, no matter how innocently it was stated, stung a little as I'm a perfectionist at heart. "Anything worth doing is worth doing right" as the saying goes. Do I really want to send "less-than-perfect" products home with people? If we flip that though, aren't the "less-than-perfect" items just as deserving of love and care? Their flaws make them unique! This pillow is one of a kind; it will never have anything that looks like it no matter how many people use this pattern and that in itself makes it beautiful. <3
So how do we flip the script as Humans? We are all a product of the world around us, our inner thoughts and emotions, and how we co-create with the Universe (Source, God, choose your name here). Are there pieces of us, physically, emotionally, mentally, even spiritually that we see as flaws? Are the flaws something we can change our perception on to make them "not flaws"? Or are there things we can accept as is and allow our unique-ness to show our beauty? <3 We obviously can't "go back" and change things; we can however, change how we understand the things. <3
One of the most important things that comes through for me when comparing the two situations - is that almost every Maker I've met will look at a piece they've created with criticism and the sellers have, on occasion, reduced their prices for something that's "not as good".... BUT every person that's purchased or obtained those items love them exactly the way they are! and most of the time are completely unaware that there's a flaw there in the first place. CHALLENGE: Can you give yourself GRACE and allow your flaws to "be" just for today, as you do for others? as you do for the items you have that are less than perfect? This pillow is our gentle reminder :) that our perceived flaws remind us of who we are, give us a place to learn and grow, AND still reflect our inner beauty while most of the time the world around us doesn't even see them. <3
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