2. When I was sixteen, I wrote an entry about knitting in my
marble journal at The Mountain School*:
“Is knitting worthwhile at all?” I mused. “A hundred
years from now, a thousand years from now, who is
going to remember knitting? Who is going to care what I
knit?”
“On the other hand,” I wrote, “I am making this hat for
my friend. And that’s nice. But I guess it doesn’t mean
much in the long run.”
* Read about this journal in my application
3. Jack, my beloved English teacher who read each journal
entry during that transformative semester, wrote a note
on the page following my comment about knitting:
“Clearly, being recorded is not an adequate parameter
for activity. The ‘little nameless acts of kindness and of
love’ are almost never recorded, but most do agree that
they are the best portion of a good life. Einstein, Castro,
and Churchill have all said so…and they have had some
pretty good print going for them.”
Knitting for others is one of my favorite acts of kindness.
It is rewarding to imagine what my friends and family
might like and to spend the time to create it. I have also
found knitting to be at various times therapeutic, social,
and creative. Thanks to Jack for helping me see the
immense value in all of these things.
4. So, for this WOW project I wanted to knit something
about me.
I chose to knit a hat that represents my mind when it is at
its best, the type of mind I have on good wake-up days*
Each layer of the hat shows a different element of life
that energizes me, fuels my ideas, and makes me feel
empowered to change the world.
* Read about good wake-up days in my application
6. Rachel’s Mind Garden Hat
1. Nature is fundamental to my peace of
mind. The more time I spend in nature,
the more calm and inspired I feel.
2. Play and exercise – without them my
brain becomes mushy and boring.
3. Exploration of new places stimulates
me (like hitchhiking across China on
trucks).
4. I love finding solutions to problems,
particularly that moment when you feel
like you have unlocked something
important.
5. Connecting with other people, and
also many different kinds of people, is
the activity I find most rewarding.
With all of these things as fertilizer,
ideas can blossom in my mind garden!
This is a Sandbox sun nurturing the
garden
