Life Starting from a Seed ②

Right now, I am growing brown cotton seedlings that I bought that day in "Fura".
Realizing that there is a "time before it becomes cloth"

We usually come into contact with cotton as "cloth" in the form of
towels, clothes, handkerchiefs, and dishcloths.
However,
I think we rarely
think about its beginnings.

Cotton is
not something made in a factory.

It is a plant that starts from a single seed,
takes root in the soil,
bathes in the sunlight,
sways in the wind,
is nurtured by the rain,
and grows through the seasons.

It was only after I started growing cotton that I
truly realized that there is a "time before it becomes cloth."

The reason I like Fura cloth is not just because
it feels good on the skin,
or because it feels pleasant.
It is because I learned that

that cloth
starts from a single seed.

Plants produce fibers called cotton
to pass their own life on to the future.
The cloth we touch

is also a gift grown by the plant to connect its life.
When I think of it that way,

the way I see a piece of cloth changes a little.
It was the same with henna and soap.

I am always

more drawn to the process leading up to the "finished product"
than the product itself.
Henna grows as a plant,

sprouts leaves,
is dried by human hands,
becomes powder,
and finally reaches our hair.
Soap also
is born from plant oils.

And cloth, too,
is born from plants.

Since I started living with plants,
I have realized that many of the things I thought were just "objects"

are actually a continuation of life.

In the past,
there was a time when I was searching for answers,
like "this is good"
or "this is bad."
But since I started growing plants,
I have been taught
that nature is not that simple.

Sunny days are necessary.
Rainy days are necessary.
Hot summers
and cold winters are also necessary.
With only one of these,
plants cannot grow.
I think human life
is surely the same.

Watching the cotton pods starting to split open right in front of me,
this year again,

I am receiving what nature teaches me.
Cloth

does not start at a shop,
nor does it start at a factory.


Cloth starts from a single seed.
And that small life
will eventually become a piece of cloth that gently wraps someone's skin.

Also,
my heart is warmed
by the rhythm and perfection of the circulating nature.

And for over 30 years,
I have taught about soap, herbs, aroma,
miso, fermentation, and so on.

However,
I feel that I am not "teaching,"
but rather, as I am now,I am "being taught."

"Teaching" is for someone who has the answers.
But "being taught" is for someone who is listening to nature.

Plants
do not say, "This is correct."

They simply sprout when spring comes,
grow leaves in summer,
bear fruit in autumn,
and sleep quietly in winter.

While watching that, it is we who are being taught how to live.

Thank you
for reading until the end.

Other articles
◉Handiwork passed down in daily life: "Soap that stays close to life" ①②

◉ Handiwork passed down in daily life: "Plum work" ①～④

◉Life starting from a seed ①②

◉Everything is in the cycle ①②③

◉ Remembering life