Exit Slip for 9/23

We wrote a sit spot poem. I sat in the field looking toward the totem park buildings and wrote about what my senses detected.

I found this exercise very peaceful. I enjoyed being able to sit and think and really focus in on what my senses were telling me. The sounds and movement that would normally be a distraction from whatever I was doing became the subject of my attention. It felt very peaceful.

Afterwards, we learned some rope making techniques. I enjoyed working with my hands, feeling the tension in the leaves as I turned and wrapped them. It was a very different experience than the poem. At first it required my full attention. Twisting the leaves I had to focus on every turn and carefully move my hands so as not to ruin the work I had done. My hands were able to quickly learn the pattern and I could let them work on their own. After some time I looked down to see a length of rope, brought into existence by my own effort, using only the leaves of a corn husk. The ability to create something, from something we might assume is waste, is a powerful tool. The ropes we made were strong, stronger than I expected from being made of corn husks, and much stronger than any individual corn husk by itself. I never did quite figure out how to splice in a new husk properly to continue my rope so in the end I just tied the ends together to make a loop.