Giving and receiving are two
halves of the same circle.
There are times when we are able to give to those in need, and there are
times when should open up and receive the help that is offered.
That is the spiral of life – the the breath going in and out – like each
heartbeat – and like the turning of the seasons.
There were times in my life that I was very much in need of help, and
fortunately I was able to open up and receive when others recognized my
loss and offered to give.
There are other times in life when I can respond and give when I see
others in need.
Some day I will need help again.
One thing I have learned is that it is equally important to know how to give, AND to be able to receive.
When someone offers a gift, or a helping hand, we are completing a circle of healing by saying "yes".
When we are moved to give, and we follow our heart, sometimes we receive the greatest gift by giving selflessly.
I have seen this last week in Guatemala when a team of 13 people donated
the gift of their time, and their caring, with no thought of
compensation.
The gift we received was that we felt more alive, more blessed, more
appreciative of what we have in our lives.
The joy in the faces of the children and the elderly who received donated quilts, was the kind of priceless gift that is beyond words.
I will never ever forget the tears of joy in the eyes of those who treasured the gift from a stranger.
As the quilts come pouring in for Hurricane Sandy victims, I know those who give benefit as much as those who receive.
There is nothing like giving a beautiful quilt, and knowing how much comfort and joy it will bring to its new owner.
As you make your handmade gifts for the holidays, and as you put a
little piece of your heart and soul in every stitch, it is like planting
seeds of love that will grow into a garden of peace and healing.
Like Johnny Appleseed, we travel through life planting these seeds of
love, and we can only dream of the orchards that will bear fruit for
future generations ….
as we give away our beautiful quilts to loved ones, and strangers, in
the holiday season.
Testimonial: Thankyou for your easy to use website. I always enjoy reading your personal bulletins about charity and your travels. Today’s is no exception and I found it moving to read about giving and receiving as two halves of the same circle. I wonder if you would be interested to read this poem I wrote, when making The Romance of the Envelope, a quilt that went into the Festival of Quilts at Birmingham a couple of years ago. I am never sure if I am a quilt maker who writes poetry or a poet who makes quilts, again you could say two halves of the same circle of creativity. I think about stories as I sew and mostly the quilts get given away and the recipient is in my mind as I sew as well. I have used your website to find exactly the right fabric for the right person, it is one of the joys of creating a new work,a little bit of internet shopping! Anyway the poem is as follows:
Ideas
Ideas in my head spilling over:
the red against the purple and blue,
sketches and photos,
words and stitches,
gauze and voile,
taffeta and cotton,
variegated thread.
But it collapses suffocating in my brain.
I can’t see to thread the needle!
My volume of poetry, Burnt Magnolias is available at the Blurb.com website: http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/detail/3821826
Charlotte Jackson
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