 GOING IN CIRCLES!
By Linda V. Taylor |
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GOING IN CIRCLES
By Linda V. Taylor
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What goes around comes around. We've all heard it. It's true. And so I'd like to address a touchy subject - jealousy. Don't shake your head; you know what I'm talking about. We've all experienced it at sometime in our life, even if you're a quilter. Let me relate a personal experience that has helped me control my resentful emotions.
Once upon a time, when I was really young (about 28), I was very jealous of this woman who I thought could do, and did do, anything and everything. Actually, it was the "everything" I really resented. Well, one day I was confiding (okay, complaining) to another friend about the first woman, who was supposed to be my friend also. I was telling her about everything this woman did and why it grated on my nerves so badly. My friend looked me straight in the green eyes and said, "Linda, do you want her to be less than she is, just so you will be more comfortable around her?" That was not what I wanted to hear about myself. That was and is not the woman I thought I was or ever hoped to be. I resolved right there and then (and have been working on it ever since) to lift others, to elevate them, to hang on to their coattails, to beg for a ride, to learn from them, to listen, to lean, to be there for them, and most of all to rejoice with them in their victories and their talents, and spread the good news. How boring life would be if we all had the same talents. Celebrate diversity and stop whining. It has made all the difference in my life through hard times and good. Perhaps it will help you. We really are all on the same team you know.
I believe quilters become better quilters by sharing with one another. If the very best quilts in the world were not displayed in a quilt show, then where would I find my inspiration? Why should I resent the fact that someone won an award on his or her beautiful quilt? Our excellence is achieved through sharing; always has been, always will be. It is not hard for us to help each other through the hard times. Why do we have difficulty celebrating each other's victories and achievements? That is what really separates a professional from an amateur. Decide which you want to be and stop going in circles.
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