I am in awe of people who are able to articulate their lives through the things they love to do or maybe sometimes even doing the things they have to do. Watching and experiencing the unfolding of the Human spirit within people is testament to our incredible individual power. For me this is the stuff my dreams are made of.
I remember meeting for the first time a tailor that studied tailoring before the Second World War. He spoke of his time as an apprentice, learning from the masters of his craft, observing the way people worked, the care and attention they took while making their client's garments. The careful sewing, the artful cutting, the precise fittings. It was like I was reading a C. S. Lewis novel for the first time again. I imagined myself in his shoes and wondered what kinds of difficulties this man must have faced through his life. I thought of how his love of his chosen craft had weathered him, tempered him, allowed him the space to grow inside as a person. From the age of 15 to the age of 80 this man honed his craft, saying to me "Ravi my dear boy, you'll never get rich doing this, but you'll never go hungry either!" How I needed his wisdom in my early years.
I think of people like this, the nameless, the faceless, the thankless souls that are the backbone of our society. I think of people who I meet whose lives are in a time warp, where they exist as a still focus while everyone else is in a blur around them. They are oblivious to the world their only focus being on the task at hand. I find inspiration in our mothers. Society would not exist if it weren't for the mothers and their selfless care and attention, their sacrifices for their children and their men. Inspiration comes to me when I think of childbirth and how magnificent and scary that must be. In that space, that liminal moment before a child is born, there is great energy, the world is accepting a new person. When I think on this I am reminded of my own responsibility, I am inspired not just to create art, textiles, curtains but to live my life fully, a life in which all those things are just a small part.
This year will bring many changes to our little company as we transition into an entirely different way of thinking and working. I am learning how change is also inspiring, the sense of newness is refreshing, even certain familiarities are inspiring me. I am finding challenge inspiring, the challenges we are faced with personally, and globally. In that context inspiration takes on an unfamiliar sense of urgency, inspiration to explore new ideas and discover intelligent solutions.
:)