RIP Milo: Love Doesn’t Die

04/07/23 • 39 min

A Fiber Life | ordinary moments on the fiber farm

We’ve lost 6 animals in the last 3 years on our farm: five guanacos and one goat. Now, as a therapist, I’ve sat with so many dear clients in the grips of death and tragedy and the pain that floods in when we lose loved ones. And I’ve faced my fair share of grief personally. But when my goat Milo died, I was hit like a brick. You’d think that my familiarity with grief and loss would help me when Milo and our 5 guanacos died. But it didn’t. And after talking it through with Greg and some other special people, I’ve come to understand that this new loss experience was different than the others I’ve experienced in the past. It was different because it didn’t come with a ready-made ritual or a way to communicate what happened. There was no Shiva or Wake, or even a plan for what to do after we said ‘goodbye.’ There was no narrative or story to provide comfort. And I needed that. I needed a story and a ritual that soothed me. Because without that, I was just left with unresolved sadness and a nagging feeling of not knowing what to do if it happened again. Honestly, I was just ready to quit the whole thing because it was all too much.So, I went on a mission to find the answer. To make a story. To create a ritual that provides comfort and solace. And I actually found one. The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.comThis podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Where It All Goes When We’re Gone

Have you ever thought about what you’ll leave behind when your time on this planet is up? An amazing accomplishment of mine had me recently experiencing an existential dilemma. Searching for answers about where all of my prized fiber and tools will go when I’m gone, I turned to my daughter Ruth, and good friend Ann. We also try to figure out if you can ever have too many crafting supplies. In the end, I get the feeling my concerns are the same concerns shared by creators everywhere. This is an episode for anyone with a million ideas and not enough time to do them all.The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.comGet 15 % off your order with the code “AFIBERLIFE15” at checkout. You can use the link in our show notes. https://smallpackages.co?sca_ref=3459552.rhQIKNxovNThis podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Episode

"The Journey is the Reward"

Sometimes the best things in life are about the process, not the product. Working with your hands vs. working with your mind. In this episode, I sit down with several spinners to understand their motivation and love for the art. In this episode, I’m telling you about how I ditched a product-led, checklist kind of life, and learned to engage more with the everyday process of living. I talk with others living that life. Josefine Waltin is a Swedish fiber artist who teaches students to spin by teaching them her philosophy of connection with raw fiber. And Kim Biegler of Ewethful Fiber Farm and Mill tells us about the realization when she rescued a 400 lb bale of Suffolk wool from being burned by the shepherd who needed room in his barn. Greg and I share about the transformation that’s happened to our hands, and how going from using our brains, to using our hands has improved us for the better.The Full Transcript can be found at www.afiberlife.comThis podcast is a production of the Bright Sighted Network. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.