Lesson

While the quilts laid out all over the room were truly beautiful and I admired the expertise, it was the king size spread, covered in the tiniest of cross stitches in blues, greens, purples, that held my rapt attention. It covered an entire wall and it was stunning. Standing back to observe the whole piece, the individual stitches were indistinguishable. As I moved closer, almost touching it, each minuscule cross stood out plainly and the complete picture was blurred. I pondered the lady who completed those tiny stitches. She clearly had a plan in mind, but the journey was as important as the destination. I imagined her focused on one small space of blue stitches, and then moving to another space, this time of green. She wouldn't be thinking about the top corner when she worked on the bottom. She concentrated on that one spot, not thinking about the rest, but always headed toward her goal: an elegant peacock with long flowing tail gracing the center, surrounded by flowers around the edge. Years of painstaking labor, culminating in this piece of art. It was a silent lesson in focus, patience, perseverance.