Tuesday, November 17, 2009

A.W.L. Contest~

What exactly does A Woven Life mean? I like to believe, it's when all aspects of your life, (i.e., home, career, personal goals, spirituality etc.) all weave seamlessly together to form a wholistic and harmonious design that is your life. If, you are anything like me, then you surely know what a struggle it can be to have a common thread tie it all together. We are constantly being pulled and stretched in so many directions, it's no wonder we loose a sense of our heart's desires and dreams. Having a genuine life experience, that encompasses all of ones desires and goals can seem tough, but it's not impossible. By desires, I do not mean a new laptop. =-) Simply the human desire to make a difference in the world. To create your ideal life. I'm pretty sure I am not alone in feeling this way. So, I decided to hold our first ever Woven Life contest!


In a brief summary, tell us:

What does A Woven Life mean to you?

What would your ideal Woven Life be?

What are some steps you take or aspire to take in order to manifest your Woven Life into reality?

Submit your entry as a comment to this post, by Friday, November 20th, 2009. The winner will be chosen soon after, and win a cute tote bag made by me. The tote is constructed from recycled cotton, recycled leather and tons of love. Guys don't let this sway you, I'm sure you know a lady or two who would adore this tote!




6 comments:

  1. My son and I always talk about the Universe and each soul in it as "The Web." Each soul is a thread in the Web, and there are times when warp and weft move seamlessly together to make a beautiful and flowing design. It is the diversity of color and texture that make the world fabric so endlessly fascinating, and all threads lead back to the Loom.

    It is impossible to say that one thread is more important to the weave than any other, or to judge that some threads are good and some are bad. No thread ever breaks or unravels, although I have seen some get quite knotted up when they forget that they are part of a whole fabric. The Weaver recycles.

    My ideal woven life would be to live more as an embroidered accent, or whatever it is that makes brocade appear only for the sake of beauty. I would have my single thread come into contact with as many others in the fabric as possible, mending where needed, or simply adding a touch of beauty in a patch of beige. There is nothing wrong with beige, but a design of color changing thread is so dynamic when seen against that background, is it not?

    I aspire to be this transformational thread by living as fair-trade cotton, dyed only with the colors of nature, and always applied by the left hand, the hand of the Master Weaver. I do my best to bring only beauty and healing to the fabric as a whole, because to see my own life as the entire cloth is too egocentric for my tastes. When the opportunity arises I like to wrap around other threads that appear weak or unhealthy and lend them my strength, or when appropriate I am willing to be tightly woven with other threads of exactly the same color to add solidarity and durability to the issues where only the warmth of hand woven cloth can bring the warmth needed. For the most part I try to exist for the purposes of bringing beauty to the cloth. (I'm an artist by profession, and when tattooing I often think of it as "stitching" magic into the living canvas of my clients.)

    The magic and wonder of it all is that no matter how I act, or you act, all of the "Us" and "Them" in the design, the cloth remains whole and strong. Isn't that inspirational and humbling?

    I am only one thread on the web, as are you. Without either of us the whole thing might unravel. I try to remember that when I see someone I want to judge or punish.

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  2. A woven life means no disconnect or non entities. Everything has a function and purpose- whether asthetic, poetic, athletic- everyform at every angle has its cause.

    My woven life would be all people living life from their heart, following their passion and their purpose, to create a higher culture. One of genuine love and understanding. Sickness and poverty would not exist because the weave is so tight nobody slips through the cracks.

    {www.Blackstone19.Org}- it weaves all aspects of life into one sight. All money raised is divided equally among the share holders and bartering is promoted. Everyone connected with Blackstone19.Org automatically recieves cross promotion. It shows that the stone refused can be the head cornerstone.

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  3. wow, i am inspired by the amazing responses to the contest.

    a woven life represents the way everyone and everything in this life is intertwined into each other. how my actions will affect others, and in return their actions affect mine. the ying and yang of the universe.

    an ideal woven life would be a society built on the fundamentals where there is a balance of achieving one's personal goals whilst providing a service to others. whether it is through mentoring, or teaching, or charitable work, etc.

    I have already begun taking steps towards fulfilling my charitable goals by donating portions of my sales to Central Asia Institute (ikat.org), and also donating handmade blankets to the Project Linus foundation.

    If we all took a little bit out of our busy lives and took a baby step to help out, the world would definitely be a better place.

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  4. A woven life would mean never having to pretend to be anyone but myself. I long to have my personal and professional life blend to combine all my interests. When I find exactly where I am supposed to be I hope to find a sense of unity in my life. I will no longer be torn between my passion and my day job. I want my passion to be my career and my life.

    How about an analogy: I'm currently warping my loom of life. I'm trying to arrange all the threads and plan my threading pattern. In order to arrive at a beautiful woven art piece I must prepare and choose my thread carefully.

    When I begin to weave the pattern in my life I want it to look like this: peaceful, aligned, full of adventure, and fulfilling. It is my intent to work with my husband to develop a business or organization that is focused on art development, style and craft. We are exploring opportunities to open a boutique where I could sell textiles, apparel, and other handmade items. Chris is a glass artist and will contribute glass jewelry, beads, ornaments, dishes, and vases to the organization.

    Our long term goals are lofty and will require team work and patience, but I know we will make it a reality. For now we are focusing on our artistic development. When we have found our nitch in the art/DIY world we can then build up our education and business skills.

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  5. What a lovely idea, this contest. My first thought was about the Fionavar tapestry trilogy, a fantasy trilogy where everyone represents a thread in the tapestry, but as a single thread, you can't see the whole pattern.

    I like to think in the real world it works the same, I try to make a difference in other peoples lives. We have a company where we try to help people grow professionaly in a piecemeal and lasting way.

    On a personal level I'm learning my kids respect for people, but also respect for animals, plants and things. I try to let them see how everything influences everything else and I'm hoping to pass them a sustainable way of life.

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  6. - I love the name of your blog. A woven Life for me would be a life where I am surrounded by love. Where there are people who have my back and i can take them for granted. Where relationships do not work on the concept of give-and-take and where my loved ones care for me. I wouldn't need money or a huge house or lots of materialistic entities. A life full of the love of my people would be My Woven Life. This is how my woven life would be and I work towards achieving it.

    In order to turn my life into my ideal woven life, i have decided to stop expecting things from my loved ones. I am going to do good and not expect anything in return because that is the fundamental foundation behind my idea od a woven life.

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