LESSON 1 ~ THE SPEC
Lesson one involves tassel making. I developed the technique many years ago and have worked diligently to perfect it. It has been quite the challenge in itself because, all leather has one thing in common - it is consistently inconsistent. No two leather hides are ever alike. Each has their very own personality; unique markings, scars and holes, and each portion of a hide varies in thickness, softness, and elasticity. With that said, before I am even able to cut the leather needed to make a tassel, I have to closely inspect and "get to know" the leather that I will be using. From start to finish, it is quite the process.
A few weeks ago, I had just completed making a pair of Kimani Leather Tassel Earrings, very similar to the ones in the photograph above. They came out beautiful! I was cleaning them in preparation for packaging when I noticed a very tiny spec. I wasn't overly concerned because it was located in an inconspicuous place and I was confident I would be able to remove it. I took out my little gummy eraser and proceeded to wipe it clean but it wasn't coming off. I tried a little soap and water and after dry, went back in with the eraser. I was beginning to obsess over this little spec until finally, I stopped in my tracks and paused for a moment. I took a step back and looked more closely at the two earring hanging in front of me. That's when I had noticed that I had missed something of greater importance - one earring was slightly longer than the other!
The life lesson I got out of this didn't come until a little later when I made the connection to another incident. A friend of mine was focused on a single word in a quote obsessing over it's definition to the extent that the entire meaning of that quote became lost. I realized how often it is we do this same thing in life! We focus on and sometimes obsess over a particular event in our lives; a bad experience from our past, a hurtful comment from a friend or spouse, or some occurrence in our life that does not quite measure up to what we want or think we deserve. Because our focus is on the wrong thing, we are not able to see the big picture potentially missing out on something of greater importance. That something could be the very thing that will alter our thinking, change our perspective and empower us with new beliefs that ultimately will set us free, bring us greater joy and maybe even change our lives in ways we couldn't imagine.
So, what has your focus askew?
@Brenda Thank you for your comment! It happens more often then I think we even realize. We’re always measuring and comparing things to see if they fit in our “box” which keeps us from living and enjoying in the present moment. I have to remember to keep my eye on Him. :-)
So true Moma! There are not many people who can say this hasn’t happened to them and probably more often than not. It’s crazy how we focus on the negatives to the point of insanity. Moving to the positive….