At the Coach’s Show this evening (put on by a local AM radio station and our beloved Cottonmouths), friends of ours were discussing the lost arts. Sadly, there is a great deal of truth to their comments… young people today are not taught to knit, crochet, sew, or quilt. Handwork has largely been replaced by television and video games. There are small groups of avid knitters and quilters but on the grand scale: the classics are fading in popularity. Why? When asked this question, the answer given is often: too little time. I am unwilling to accept this as truth. I find it really hard to believe that we have less time than past generations who worked in the fields all day, made their own clothing, and heated their own bathwater. So, I figure that it has to do with how we view success.

In today’s world, how do we define success? Just what are we working toward? Do we consider someone successful because they have shiny new SUVs, plasma TVs, children that wear designer clothing, and live in the right part of town? In order to supply ourselves with these symbols of success, we overload with multiple credit cards, car payments, and vacation expenses. The stress levels rise and we fall farther behind. Even with all of our modern conveniences and multi-tasking, we have trouble scheduling time with our spouse and our children. Who has time for knitting, crocheting, or quilting?

In the past, success meant that you made it through the year without sickness or death, that the crops were plentiful, that your children had shoes to wear, and you owned your own land. Sounds simple, right? It wasn’t. It was time consuming to say the very least. It wasn’t all barn dances and candlelight suppers. Life was hard. Quilts were made for utility — not decoration. Fabric often came from feed sacks and every single scrap was used. A woman who knew how to knit and crochet could ensure that her children would be warm while walking to school or doing chores. She made socks so that her family would not have frostbitten toes and even knitted socks for soldiers overseas (common during WWI and WWII).

So here’s the challenge: get a beginners kit for knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, or cross stitch and plant a tiny herb garden without chemicals. Park the handwork kit beside your TV and carry it with you to conferences or ball games. Water and tend to your little garden. Show and teach your children and your spouse what you’ve learned. Preserve a piece of your heritage (because somewhere along the line, someone in your family mastered at least one of these lost arts) and ensure that it is passed down through your children. After finishing your projects, sit down and think about what it really means to be successful.  Would you give back a single moment of gardening or knitting with your family?   Read what Aaron Ivey says in this blog entry and know that you are not taking life’s precious gifts for granted anymore.  It really is that simple. 

“The definition of success –To laugh much; to win respect of intelligent persons and the affections of children; to earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one’s self; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition.; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived–this is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson