Honoring Diversity, Cultivating Empathy prayer flag #8

I’ve named today’s prayer flag Honoring Diversity.  

It’s a cloth made perhaps 7 years ago.  A time when I was experimenting with free motion machine stitching as well as natural dyeing.  The linen background, as I recall, was dyed with golden rod.  The right hand corner isn’t washed out as it seems.  And the oval is a combination of free motion stitching, hand stitching, pastels on cloth and machine work. Four diverse methods for creating a whole cloth.  I pulled it out of my scrap bag this a.m.  Relegated there because at the time, I didn’t know what to do with it.  It’s not beautiful, not really pleasing, not what I expected, but clearly diverse.  Sometimes that’s messy.  And now it’s stitched onto linen and sending out the need for honoring others.

Originally my intention was to honor the four directions and the elements of fire, water, earth and air–elements essential to life as we know it.  Elements to be revered, to be protected–honoring diversity.

The other day, grandson and I were discussing the value of diversity.  The concept of empathy came up and he wanted an explanation.   Wondered if it was the same thing as feeling sorry for someone.  To be honest, I had to dig.  Finally I said I thought that rather than feeling sorry for someone, empathy is more like feeling sorry with someone.  Maybe not the best answer but he seemed to get it.  So…sending this wish out on a wing and a prayer.   May we honor diversity and cultivate empathy.