The View From My Desk: The World Around In One Room

(what I can see from my desk as I enjoy the stewardship by God's grace of my modest small business dedicated to the art of fine handmade rugs)

There are the things seen with the eyes, physical realities: assorted shapes, diverse patterns -- some repeated as themes over a variety of individual rug pieces; multitudes of colors and color combinations blended in harmonious ways that give a vitality to the patterns delineated by their changes and juxtaposition.

And these visual impressions expand beyond mere physical sensation to metaphysical considerations: the things seen with the mind's eye. I see the complexity of structure and form that suggest (undeniably) an enduring purpose, things built to last; like any work of art: an artifact of creation that extends in time beyond the creative act as a testament of the spirit that created. The amazing intricacy, the lively interplay of colors and patterns are beacons radiating here and now the vitality (and apparent delight in life) which in reality are temporally and spatially distant as regards their use in the effort of assembling them into these expressions of beauty. An artisan, or group of artisans, far removed from here in some distant land and different culture, working for a long time in some time past, brought forth with the labor invested in each unique rug a testimonial, a monument, a memorial perhaps to a great love, or some deep appreciation, or an enviable ecstasy that had the inner power to shape spiritual motives into physical reality.
I know the simplicity of the people who have made these finely crafted rugs that I see with my eyes from my desk. Their hard lives and simple ways don't hold much attraction as a "lifestyle choice" for us when compared with our easier "sophisticated" Western lifestyles; but the physical artifacts of their spiritual life-force -- full of color; intricately interwoven in beautifully patterned themes -- deserve respect, appreciation, and some effort at integration into our speed-of-light material culture which is less and less connected with artisanship and the ability therein to personally transform our spiritual urges into enduring symbols of what truly motivates us.