It is really hard some days to remember that a little tension can be A Good Thing, in life as in weaving.
Tension or stress is most often portrayed as being bad. But there are times when a little tension actually helps.
A few examples...
When dealing with a loose thread, a little tension will keep it co-operative and much less prone to tangling.
During weaving, the right amount of tension on the warp will keep the threads straight and true. Sheds will open cleanly and consistent tension will make beating in the weft easier.
The right amount of tension on the weft will help make good selvedges.
Firm tension on the warp during beaming will mean easier weaving as does firm tension winding weft packages.
In terms of teaching a little tension helps me stay focussed on the topic and the information I want to convey.
Doing anything new can create stress/tension because it can be scary to try something never attempted before. When I decide to do something different, I try to concentrate on what I mean to accomplish. When the Inner Critic points outs ways it could all go terribly wrong, I think through consequences and try to formulate solutions. I try very hard to not let the Voices of Fear clamour unchallenged in my head.
If we never confront those fears and work at overcoming them, accepting the stress and tension involved in the exercise, we will only do the known, stay in the safe. Which is fine, but limiting in terms of personal development, I think.
So as scary and stressful as some things may be, there are times when forging ahead in spite of the challenge is, truly, A Good Thing.
2 comments:
Hello Laura. I totally agree that we need to push ourselves all the time. I once set out to weave something I could clearly see in my mind before I started, and thats exactly how it turned out, exactly as I pictured it!! How boring!! Camilla xx
My daughter made and hung several quotes with art in my new grandson's bedroom. I like them all, with this being particularly relevant: "If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough." Like you, I have taken many leaps in my life. Those leaps have made all the difference between simply working at a job and doing something that you believe is meaningful, helpful, appropriate to your talents, and a good use of your limited time on earth. Does leaping involve stress? You bet. But there's EUstress (good stress-it's how we avoided being eaten by the angry lion centuries ago) and DIStress (bad stress that makes us sick in so many ways). And with no stress we'd never grow, never explore, never learn new things, and probably not create much beautiful, either.
Heck, even this new computer of mine is causing me stress...especially yesterday, it's first day in my house. I'm much calmer today.
It's all about balance.
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