Small Stitches

Have you ever noticed that even the largest of projects created with needle and thread are made up of the smallest of stitches?

No matter the size and/or complexity of the stitching, it’s each individual push and pull of needle and thread through fabric that brought it into being.

It turns out that life is much the same.

It’s often the smallest of details that bring our lives to life.

When we look back, its often the big events we reminisce about, but if we take the time to unpack why these moments come to mind, chances are it’s the minutiae of the occasion that remain.

The overseas trip of a lifetime is often recounted moment by moment as we recall a simple meal eaten, a single conversation stumbled through in a foreign language or the bartering over a much-wanted item in a local market. The most memorable of weddings are often so because of flowers arranged, a speech given or an intricate detail on dress or veil.

Whilst the last couple of years have made many of our lives feel smaller as the borders to which we’re able to travel have become narrower and the groups we’re able to gather in are now lesser in number, many of us have found comfort in new rhythms of detail.

Rituals of checking in with those we love a little more often than usual, ensuring nature becomes a part of our everyday even if only for a moment or the simple practice of recording moments we’re grateful for amidst the hustle and bustle that’s surrounded us.

We’ve become attuned to creating ‘small stitches’ of life as never before.

As much as we’d hoped life would have returned to ‘normal’ by now, it would seem we’re not quite there yet, but maybe the lesson for us all is that instead of looking to the next big thing, we should dwell in the next small moment for as long as we can, both in life and in the stitching before us?