As I sit and knit at the end of the day after dinner, I have my own conversations with myself in my head. Today I am trying to knit a lace shawl. It is hard to have any kind of conversation with anyone when following a complicated pattern for the first, and in my case, second, third, and fourth time.
It’s been a hard week. I want to shut the conversation off in my mind. As I force myself to concentrate on the knitting pattern and counting the stitches, I make less room for the thoughts I can do nothing about. Each time I stray from the pattern and make a mistake I am forced to pay attention to what I am doing and focus on my knitting rather than the incessant non productive chatter in my mind. An added benefit is that the project makes enormous progress.
When I had to change pages in book, from the lace pattern to the edging pattern, I noticed a few quotes at the bottom of some of the pages. Life is hilariously spot on, and throws little tidbits of encouragement along the way, if only we notice.
Here are several for thought and Monday night conversations.
“ The universe is made of stories, not atoms. ” – Muriel Rukeyser
“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” – Amelia Earheart
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Sally Berger
And, drum roll please-
“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.” – Sophia Loren
“If we don’t put ourselves out there, take the risk, enjoy the ride, and know that it won’t all go according to what we planned, then why are we here?” – Lindah
Seasoned 
Those quotes are much more interesting tham the chit chat in my head!