World Peace?

Do you think about world peace very often? Or what your part in it is? You know, while drinking your morning coffee you contemplate what the world would be like "if I were Queen (King) of the forest?"

I used to semi-jokingly state that we were going to obtain world peace one knitter at a time. I thought if we could get more and more people knitting we would come into a place of knitting zen where all boundaries would be broken. A place where all things knitterly would be shared in common. I imagined the United Nations filled with knitters from all around the world. Each country bringing it's own special, unique fiber to be added to the UN stash. And each time a new texture, fiber or color was added all would join in together with oooooooooooo's and ahhhhhhhhhhhhh's. Instead of the clicking of angry tongues one would hear the clicking of happy knitting needles. I imagined the halls being filled with little free rolling yarn balls. And via the wonderful gift of knitting each country would learn to share of their resources and come up with constructive, creative ways to solve all OUR major issues. We would act as one.

Overall, most fiber enthusiasts I've met world wide are very giving people. I've had people from all over the world send me yarn, cd's, fiber, chocolate, patterns and knitted items just because they wanted to gift me with things. Wonderful people from Norway, England, Belgium, Canada, and here in the States. I began believing my surmise........Knitting is the way to world peace. Yes and amen.

But then something happened to burst my bubble. I started hanging around knitters. People!!!!! If it weren't for people we could achieve world peace. I wish I could blame it on all the other knitters, but alas, I can't. I have no one but myself to blame. You see, I've known this for some time now, but it is something I've managed to keep hidden deep within myself. A secret I find it difficult to reveal. Actually, a secret I have relished with pride.

"Hello, my name is Peggy and I am a......................yarn snob." The only way I can allow myself to be so vulnerable as to reveal this is I hope to give you the courage to admit who/what you really are. That you too will come out of the closet. That through my groveling you may have your own personal epiphany.

I am a yarn snob. I've been one for a number of years. At least five years. I think it happened about the time I became a serious knitter. What I mean by that is when all other hobbies were forsaken for only knitting. If the word hobby is disconcerting to you we will deal with that later. It was around that time that I quit going into the craft section of Wal-Mart or Hobby Lobby to look for yarn. The word "acrylic" seldom passed over my tongue except in phrases of disgust. In fact, that is a word I would only say in a whisper. I thought "Never has a more disgusting, vile word been created" except for one other word I won't venture to mention just yet. I don't recall being rude to anyone over my snobbery. Many times our prejudices thrive within the darkness of our superior thoughts or are veiled in our communications. Such as, "Oh, yeah, if you want QUALITY yarn you need to go to the "yarn store."" Or, "All the acrylic yarn I have in my stash was given to me, I only use it when teaching new knitters."

How can I hope to be any part of any kind of answer to any kind of world peace of any kind when I harbor any kind superiority? I wish I could say my being a yarn snob was the worst of my deepest darkest secrets. Many times when the cosmic light of self-awareness shines into the dark, dank crevices of our souls other, more serious character flaws are revealed.

To Be Continued......................