I have to apologize to those of you who took me seriously when I said there was minimal ‘religion’ in this book. It is a Taoist book and today’s word does have quite a bit of the Taoist beliefs associated with it. I am not going to go into much of what the book said, but give you my interpretation. I wasn’t happy that this was the word of the day, but that’s life so I tried to think of ways ablution applied to quiltmaking.
The book talked about cleansing. When I go up to my workroom after several days of not being there, or after the end of a project, I have to tidy up and put things away. Sometimes I get so engrossed in a project that I have to tidy up in the midst of a project (especially if it involves lots of fabric!). I think that this is a kind of ablution in the quiltmaking process. While putting everything away, I often find myself thanking (I know this sounds dumb) my tools and supplies for their good performance on the last project while preparing my psyche, the space and the tools and supplies for the next project. It is a kind of ritual for me.
interesting… when I think of ablutions I think of the chance for new beginnings, a washing away of the old, and preparing for a new adventure.
I agree that washing away the old and preparing for something new are part of ablutions. I can’t get away from the thought of water associated with it, which I certainly don’t want cavorting with my fabric!