Soul

Some knitters are really into sheep. They know the difference between the breeds of sheep and they are horrified when you mix up Hampshire sheep with Suffolk Sheep. Everyone knows Suffolk Sheep don’t have good wool for yarn but Hampshire sheep do. Or do they?

When I buy yarn, I look at the ball band to see if it’s wool, alpaca, or some other kind of animal. It never occurred to me to notice the breed of sheep. Until I wandered into a yarn store in the Netherlands.

Real knitters know their wool, this woman told me as I caressed a skein of yarn in her shop. That skein you are touching is from Sandra. She held up a picture of a sheep. Sandra is a Texel sheep living on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. Each breed of sheep has characteristics that make their wool unique. This is the soul of the wool, she said reverently. I never discovered the name of the shop owner but I knew the name of the sheep whose wool I bought.

I began to pay more attention to sheep breeds and soon I was able to discern their unique characteristics, the spirit of the yarn.

The soul is the unique quality of our life force that makes us who we are. It animates us, energizes us, and generates our passions. It is the divine spark that spurs us to love. Let us honor the souls in all living beings.