Making an Intention Flag for 2015

I love flags, making use of everything, making art out of stuff one step away from trash, letting go of clutter, setting intentions and cultivating community. Making an Intention Flag is a beautiful and simple project that brings all of these loves together.

When I don’t know what to do with a stained t-shirt or other worn-out piece of clothing, I usually cut it up for napkins or rags, but sometimes the fabric isn’t absorbent enough, so I stow it in a milk crate for future use.

Just before Christmas I deep cleaned the tiny house and found a forgotten basket of fabric scraps in the storage compartment under the couch. Yes, even in a tiny house we accumulate stuff and forget about it. Since I had to make room for the influx of gifts, it was time to use or trash this fabric.

Since it is the season of intentions, I decided to make an Intention Flag. Flags dancing in the woods make me happy. I love the idea of the gratitude or intention floating on the wind and permeating the space. The kids and I make Gratitude Flags every year and they turn our woods into a sacred space. Adding not just our intentions but the intentions of our family and friends to the gratitude excited me.

I wrote about 10,000 intentions, okay maybe 10, and, man, I still had a ton of fabric left, so I decided to expand the project. I took the basket along with a bag of permanent markers to a few gatherings between Solstice and New Year’s Day. At least forty people added intention to this flag.

When my mom was with me for Christmas day, we sewed the scraps of fabric onto strips I tore from an old flat sheet. Hanging the flag in the woods was a beautiful and powerful way to spend Christmas night with Mom. (Read more about our Christmas and other stories in our Winter Newsletter.)

My commitment to my friends and family was to create this flag and then to hold the space for their intentions all year. Walking in our woods and seeing the intentions of so many reflect the light in the shadow of my great white oak is pure art. What’s striking about this flag is the similarity of our intentions.

We all have similar desires and they’re really very simple.

What are your intentions for 2015? Let them fly!

 

Simply,
Hari
P.S.
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