Name Dropping

 

Much of my weaving journey has been about popping my reality bubble.  Well, I don't actually use 'bubble' as a metaphor much - because for most people what they live in isn't very transparent.  It's more like an onion.

I have been peeling layers off my reality 'onion' for years.  Decades.

Perhaps it is because I started reading at a very early age, an activity encouraged and supported by my mother and father.  (My father was functionally illiterate - just never had an opportunity to go to school.)

As I look back on my life, I remember some of the people I've met along the way.  Some people I got to know better than others.  Some became friends, or at least friendly acquaintances.  Some I am still in touch with, others have gone.  Sometimes gone as in no longer living, sometimes just taken a different path and I've lost touch with them.  When I think about those, I remember the good times and send them positive thoughts, hoping they are happy and well on their journey.

Today's essay was more about the people I have learned from and in it I decided to go ahead and Drop Some Names.  Because I have had the opportunity to learn from some Big Names in the weaving world.  I even got to know some of them well enough to shoot them an email if I had questions I thought they might be able to answer.

Some are local, some regional, some across the country, some in other countries.

The internet has been a boon for small communities like weavers.  Daily I see posts from people in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.  Sometimes from South Africa.  There are a few in other places in Africa and some from Asia.  

All these different locations and experiences remind me to peel my eyes open, maybe another layer needs to come off my reality 'onion'.

Today I decided to share some of my learning experiences.  As I wrote about my learning journey, I realized how many of my teachers/mentors have died now.  It was a bittersweet morning as I thought about each person, the impact they had on me and how I have grown because of that.

I didn't name everyone, just alluded to them in some cases, because some people are very private and may not feel comfortable with my naming them.  I tried to respect privacy as much as possible, but did name some people who I felt wouldn't mind my naming them as a positive influence on me.

The recent messages I've had (reinforcement from the universe I am doing the right thing by writing these stories down?) means that I think some of the people I name might appreciate hearing that I remember them and still appreciate the time they gave to me and my questions.

At the same time I am finishing Tyson Yunkaporta's book Sand Talk and feeling the connection to others and this earth we live on.  So it felt right, at this moment in time, to acknowledge the people who have touched me and provided energy and information for my journey, my growth as a person and a weaver.

Each one, teach one, was the phrase I heard as a new weaver.  That seems to encapsulate both my feelings about weavers and Yunkaporta's observations that we are all one.  

We are stardust.  We are the stars.