About ten years ago I started collecting tiny boxes. I'm not sure exactly why. I was drawn to their size when traveling; they were easy to get home. I was drawn to their color and design; bright colors and trinkets always catch my eyes. I was drawn to their craftmanship. And I was also drawn to their stories. They each had a story when I bought them or when they were given to me as a gift. (My family and friends now bring me tiny boxes when they go somewhere, too.) They each also gained a new story when they became mine. In so many ways, my tiny box collection is so representative of my life, of teaching, of the future. The stories of our life, while they may seem tiny, when woven together become a large, beautiful tapestry. The fibers of our lives are woven together making the tapestry have even more meaning.
I have boxes from Alaska, Mexico, Ecuador, Jamacia, England, Italy, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Hawaii, Grand Cayman, Fanning Island, Denmark, Russia, Switzerland, Vatican City, The Netherlands, Germany, the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Columbia, Nicaragua, and more exotic places like main street in Lawrence, Kansas (a beautiful hand made wood box by a local woodworker), San Antonio, TX, Florida, and quite a few other places. And, they all sit in my living room on a very special Ralli Quilt made by my friends Surrendar and Naina from Pakistan.
The important thing about the boxes isn't that I have them, or what they look like, but the story behind them. The relationships that developed between myself and friends I made where I was when I purchased them, or where my family or friends were and the relationships they made while they were where they purchased the tiny box for me. They remind me of important friendships. These tiny boxes are near and dear to my heart. When I started collecting them ten years ago I never had any idea how much they would eventually mean to me. While they are each beautiful pieces of art, they are symbolic of that ever so important human connection we must have in this life.
"We don't accomplish anything in this world alone . . . and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapestry of one's life and all the weaving of individual threads that form one to another that create something."-Sandra Day O'Connor
