Children’s books have a magnetic attraction I find hard to resist. As I picked up my latest little treasure and thumbed through its pages, it stole my heart. Reality lost its appeal as I was transported into a world that delights me beyond measure…the world of make believe, the lost world of childhood imaginings. Such a feast for the heart of the child that lives within me. She knew we were going on a colourful journey of endless possibility.

“The Quilt Makers Gift” is so rich in glorious illustration with a simple but beautiful storyline. However, the message that is secretly woven into its fabric holds a far greater magical allure, as is always the case with children’s stories. For it’s the child within us that knows the truth, and is indeed our guiding light. Children don’t hear a moral or lesson within these children’s stories, they simply connect with the inherent truth that already lights their inner spirit. They already shine this light of truth. And oh how they delight in the opportunity to playfully connect with the inner child spirit of the adult storyteller, a connection of light that is unfortunately reserved for storytime. And our own inner child spirit simply leaps with joy at this invitation to slip from beneath the cover of adulthood and play.

“The Quilt Makers Gift” suggests that each gift we freely and joyfully give, restores youth and beauty to the fabric of our being. As children already radiate the essence of youth and beauty, they are in themselves their own joyous reward. Their spirits dance happily because they see themselves glowing brightly on the storybook pages before them…they are seen…they are heard…they are happy…their beautiful free spirit is a reward in itself. They know that their pure innocent spirit is the evolutionary destination…that they are the happily ever after of dreams come true.

Back in storyland we find the pure innocent spirit of dreams-come-true disguised as the old quilt maker, who creates the prettiest quilts anyone has ever seen. Now how is it possible, you might ask, that the spirit of youth be symbolised by an old woman?  Very simply, this represents the longest living aspect of self…the aspect that has been in existence since the beginning of our time…it is the most ancient canvas of our body. This is the infant or embryonic part of our life story, our once upon a time, the foundation upon which chapter after chapter has been woven. Our infant aspect is the oldest aspect of our being. Accordingly, our infant brain is indeed known as the ancient brain. In its prime, during infancy, its intimate relationship with our creative feminine right brain expresses radiantly through our youthful body matrix…the prettiest quilt we’ve ever seen. Our pure innocent spirit of infancy is the radiant creator of our youthful body…our little bundle of joy. This youthful matrix, our true essence, has simply faded from view beneath the cover of time. She lurks in the depths, the youth of old, making her presence felt through the magical fulfilment of dreams, wishes and desires.

Our story continues. The quilt maker sews her quilts as if with fingers of magic…they are irresistible and therefore draw many an offer from those whose pockets are bursting with gold. But she won’t sell her wonderous quilts, her gracious gifts that she bestows upon the needy. The quilt maker holds true to her pure innocent story of grace that nourishes both herself and all who receive her gifts of kindness. By analogy, when our pure infant spirit is expressed freely, it creates a matrix woven from radiant threads of light, whose magnetic allure draws nourishment through self belief. We are innocent and free. Unfortunately throughout childhood we compromise the fabric of our being by exchanging parts of our story with others, whose pockets are bursting with the shiny temptations of approval. As our radiant threads mingle with their weary tales of old, our true story slips sadly into the dim recesses of our cells, our dreamland, feeling sad and unloved. The quilt maker, our innocent infant spirit, won’t sell her wondrous quilt, but we cell our beautiful matrix, our pure quilt of grace, by placing it in the prison of fear…doing time…aging. Time is not kind to our body…youth becomes a distant memory.

KINDNESS = KINDER -ness = YOUTH

Now it happened that there was a powerful and greedy king who liked nothing better than to receive presents, for he was still searching for the one beautiful thing that would make him happy. When he learned of the magical quilt maker, he demanded she gift him one of her wondrous quilts. “”Make presents of everything you own,” she said, “and then I’ll make a quilt for you. With each gift that you give, I’ll sew in another piece. When at last all your things are gone, your quilt will be finished.”” Clearly, our pure infant spirit cannot supply us with a beautiful, youthful matrix until we cleanse our cells of the erroneous belief that our happiness comes from external sources. As we treasure the approval of others, we lose faith and clarity of self, and our matrix/quilt suffers. With each tiny release our fabric mends, as we sew another piece of beauty into our joyous quilt. When finally we have dissolved all our past baggage, our quilt will radiate with the expression of purity and innocence that is its unique and original design.

By now you will realise that the quilt maker is you…and that this story is taking place in your cells. So let’s venture forth as the king endeavours to forcefully claim his prize of happiness. Needless to say, he refuses to give away his treasures, but instead shackles the quilt maker in a cave with a sleeping bear, having designs to loosen her resolve through fear. To no avail, for upon waking, the bear’s mighty roar is gently soothed by the kindly heart of the little old quilt maker, as she sees through his grouchy external demeanour to his underlying pain and sadness. In her kindness she makes him a soft pillow to replace his hard bed of rocks and then they sit down to a breakfast of berries and honey. Our cells are filled with the mighty roar of grouchy voices from the past who simply forgot that all we needed was kindness. As we gently soothe those voices, we release our long-held pain and soften our hearts thus providing ourselves with a nurturing pillow of kindness…a sweet, nourishing matrix of youth.

After another failed attempt at forced coercion, the king finally shouts “What must I do for you to give me a quilt?” From her kindly heart the quilt maker reiterates that he must give away all the treasures he owns, for what good were they if they don’t make him happy. A single marble was the first gift that fetched such a bright smile that the king increased his gift giving…and very soon was smiling and laughing himself. “How can I feel so happy about giving my things away?” As the king’s gifts of kindness embroidered smiles upon the fabric of the world, the quilt maker embroidered his special quilt. Piece by piece it grew more radiantly beautiful, as she magically sewed with threads of light. The smallest kindness is the greatest beginning, for the good we feel from one kind deed leads to another and another. And what is the feeling of goodness but the sweet, nourishing vibration that soothes and mends our sad matrix. When kindness becomes our constant practice, our whole world smiles in glorious reflection of our wondrous, radiant perspective, that twinkles from the matrix of our tender open heart.

Tenderly the quilt maker wraps the king’s beautiful new quilt around his shoulders while gently reminding him of her promise that this was his special gift to be received only when he himself was poor. “I may look poor, but in truth my heart is full to bursting, filled with memories of all the happiness I’ve given and received.” With twinkling eyes he thanked her as he gifted her his one last treasure…his throne. When finally we untangle our threads of light by releasing the weary tales of old, kindness tenderly embraces our loving matrix. Kindness, the one gift that will make us happy. Kinder-ness, youth, the one gift that will bring joyous radiance to our physical tissue. Our pure, innocent spirit of infancy sits now on the throne of creation bestowing upon the fabric of our being the prettiest quilt you’ve ever seen. It’s the child within us that knows the truth and is indeed our guiding light. When seen through the twinkling eyes of a child, life is a wondrous quilt of magical threads.