Working on the 1Love1Heart Project brings to mind the Japanese practice of folding 1,000 cranes, which proved to have more connection to these little hearts than it appeared at first. Folding 1,000 cranes is a Japanese tradition that dates to around the 6th century AD or BCE. Fold 1,000 cranes and make a wish. Fold 1,000 cranes and present them to the bride and groom for luck. Fold 1,000 cranes to remember. Or to forget. Repetition is powerful therapy, and the 20th century tradition of folding cranes centers around a young girl named Sadako Sasaki, who survived Hiroshima only to die not many years later from leukemia caused by the blast. She began folding cranes to deal with her pain and the pain her family felt for her. But that was not the end of it. Since 2007 Sadako Legacy has been donating her cranes around the world where healing is needed including the 9/11 memorial. Repetition. Meditation. Connection. (Here is an excellent article about the cranes.) Crocheting, like folding, is repetition. Through the loop, hook the yarn, pull the yarn, repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. There comes a rhythm after a while. Even a blank state of mind. Dare we say meditative? Yeah, we can. In meditation one follows the breath. In. Out. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Looking for that blank state of mind. That is meditation's intention. Clearing the mind. Opening up possibility. Looking for—and creating—connections. Literally and figuratively. Making these 1Love1Hearts is very much a meditation with intention. Though the loop, hook the yarn, pull the yarn, repeat, intending hope for the young survivors as they rise up peacefully against violence and the inaction of the adults in power who are supposed to keep them safe. Through the loop, hook the yarn, pull the yarn, repeat, hoping for the best possible future what they will create out of the mess and sorrow they've had thrust upon them. Through the loop, hook the yarn, pull the yarn, repeat, connecting at a meta-level with other hands at work on this same project in other places for this same reason. To convert anger and frustration into physical objects of love. To give them away as a symbol of unity. To wear them and show where we stand, what we stand for, and what we will stand against. Whether it's 1,000 cranes or 1,000 crocheted hearts, healing and hope are the goals. We really are all in this together. Read more about Sadako Sasaki.
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