A Match Made in Heaven

So I had some Noro Taiyo yarn and bought the Noro pattern booklet Joy. Going to make the vest pattern that the booklet says to use the yarn with. Then I get a cropped cardigan pattern by BlueSkyAlpaca, and was going to use Handmaiden Tussah Silk. But I kept thinking how the Taiyo yarn, really wanted to be made into the cropped cardigan. I resisted this marriage. But finally as I tried the two separate projects they weren't getting gauge, and the yarns were not really correct for the assigned projects.

So I gave up and am making the cropped cardigan in Noro, and I think it will probably look fabulous. I love the way Noro self stripes, so gorgeous. Sometimes you want to fit the yarn to a pattern, but the reality of it, just isn't as you pictured the garment in your head. The yarn whisperer!

Today listening zencast speaker stated that compassion is the willingness to get close to suffering. I've never really thought about it much, but I thought this was very accurate. That feeling suffering of our own isn't pleasant, much less someone elses. But to really feel compassion, you have to get close to that unpleasant emotion.

I feel like the loving kindness concept doesn't come as readily to give it to myself. I do, when I think about it, but I don't often think about it. I am usually self critical, but when I stop and think I can give myself a break.

I find the clinging and desire to be hard things to work on. I also love how buddhism uses the word "practice". Because that is what we are doing in life. We are continually practicing, it's not getting it right. But then is that really even a buddhist concept. What is, is.