Life is all about patterns. I’m taking swim lessons again, because after more than a year out of the water, I have to start over. I’m so close to being able to swim, but, the rhythm of the breathing eludes me. Also, it takes a lot of energy to be able to swim any distance, such as the length of the pool, and I am lacking in energy. I said to an instructor, “I have so little energy.” He said, “Then don’t waste any of it.” As we learn effective patterns of movement and breathing, we can save energy, and direct that energy to the swimming itself. Yesterday, we worked on the back stroke. That alternating arm movement is so difficult for me. I wonder if it is an issue of focus in my brain, or an issue of the strength required to move my arm through the water?
I used to do a lot of quilting, a process of creating blankets, clothing, or art work, in which at least three layers of fabric are sewn together in patterned stitching. Patchwork is a particular style of this art. It started as a way to make use of every scrap of fabric available, and not waste anything. For example, to make a dress for an adult, you need about four yards of fabric. It is folded in half lengthways. You lay the pieces of your pattern on the cloth along the fold, so that you are cutting one line, and it is the same on both sides of the piece. Usually the skirt front flares out from the waist line in a triangle, and the skirt back is in two pieces so you don’t need to put it on the fold. But, there will always be unused fabric because of the shapes required. Sometimes you could make a child’s garment with those parts, if you laid the pieces carefully at first. But there will still be some left over, too dear to throw away, but too odd shaped to make another garment. A good use of those pieces was to cut them into various shapes, triangles and squares being the favorites, and sew them together in patterns to make the top of a blanket. Sometimes people also used the good parts of worn out clothing to make patchwork. Imagine a dress that was worn out on the back, and at the hem line, but still fine in the front. These parts could be used again in a patchwork quilt. A quilt has this top, then some filler such as cotton, wool, or some other old blanket that was nearly worn out, and then a bottom piece. These layers can be tied together with yarn, or sewn with decorative stitching. An early American proverb is “Waste not, want not.” If you have little, don’t waste any, energy or fabric.
Sudoku is a modern puzzle in which you organize numbers into squares. In each puzzle, some numbers are given, and you have to find the others. The rule is, though, that you must not repeat the numbers in a horizontal line, a vertical line, or in a set of nine in a smaller square. Think of a grid of nine small squares set together to make one large square. Each smaller square has nine tiny squares—one number for each tiny square. For each small square, you need the numbers one through nine. For each long vertical line, and each long horizontal line, you need the numbers one through nine. You have to find the correct placement by using what is already given. For example, if a smaller square already has an 8, you can’t put another 8 in that set of nine tiny squares. And if an 8 already occurs in one of the longer lines, you can’t put the 8 in that line. Each number has its proper place. I see the puzzle as a nine-patch quilt. It is the simplest pattern in quilting. Put those tiny squares into blocks of nine, then organize the blocks into larger blocks, until you have made the size you want. Being careful of how you organize the colors within the blocks, you can make designs in the larger piece. So I enjoy the puzzle which occurs in our daily newspaper. It’s an exercise in logic, in organization, and in creativity within a structure.
Patterns of numbers, of movement, of rhythm, these are the patterns of life. Shall we dance? Shall we sing? Shall we swim? Can we use what’s given to find what’s not? Can we see colors in the numbers, or hear music in the water, or find poems in the daily rhythm of life? If you don’t see the pattern, keep looking. If you don’t hear the pattern, keep listening. If you don’t have much to work with, don’t waste anything. Use the structure, the forms of the stroke, the steps of a dance, the melody of a song, to gain energy, to be effective, to create beauty. Perhaps we can find then, the patterns of love and joy.