For ten years, I made my living weaving cloth on a floor loom. In weaverly lingo, cloth is made up of warp threads (threaded lengthwise on the loom) and weft threads (woven crosswise on the loom). The interlacing of these lengthwise and crosswise threads creates the fabric.

Cloth can also serve as a metaphor: the warp threads are our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in which we invest meaning. The weft threads are bodily sensations and perceptions which we assume make up “us” and the “world.”

Out of these, we weave whole cloth–the very cloth that veils our true nature. It feels substantial and serves us well, often for many decades.

Until it gets in the way, wears thin, or just plain breaks down. We know when this happens. The veil we have woven  unweaves itself in a wild and miraculous way. This unraveling may take a very long time, or it might fall apart in our hands. Either way, it can be quite disorientating. The fact is, it is simply not needed any longer.

© Skye Blaine, 2011