Connected and uplifted

There's a beautiful scene in the book Love in Ruin when the protagonist, Marty, a gutsy journalist visits a prisoner of war camp in Finland.  There is death and devastation all around.  The prisoners, so young and naive, seem not even to know what they are fighting for.  The guards, although they have a job to do, empathize deeply with the plight of their captives.  As the day closes, Marty, the guards, and her guide draw together in their temporary quarters.  One of the men pulls out his guitar and begins to play a song they all know.  The voices ring out, the sound swells, and Marty finds that she and the others are connected in the beauty of the music.  They are together swept away and lifted to a higher place where the horror of the day does not touch them.  Such is the power of art.

As we reflect this day on the tragedy, still painful after 17 years, it is art that can heal our collective sorrow.  Art, like tragedy, brings us together.  Because the ability to experience art is uniquely human, it provides a connection we share with all humans.  We need this connection -- whether we're suffering or joyful.  We need to feel that we are not alone, but connected - a part of something larger than ourselves.  It's natural.  It's human.

It is through shared experience of tragedy, joy, art, or sorrow, that we find our place in the ever-connected world of human kind.  I believe with all my heart that it is this search for connection that brings us to the table at the shop.  We all want to share who we are, find our place, and be part of something beautiful and larger than ourselves.  It is why knitalongs are so much more popular than our individual random projects.  Knitalongs offer a shared experience, sense of belonging, and an understanding that this is a place that transcends whatever is happening outside.  I invite you to knitalong with us - to be part of the creation of both individual and collective art, and to be uplifted and healed by it. 

I look forward to seeing you in the shop and around the table.  You are always welcome here.  ~Ellen

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