"It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving."
- Mother Teresa
Giving is about what leaves my hands. It's also about the attention I bring to the offering.
This pretty box was folded for a celebration and will hold something small but meaningful. It has been lovingly shaped to honor both what's inside, and my esteem for the receiver.
Today I'm practicing giving by reflecting on what it means to wrap something — an object, a moment, or even a feeling — with care.
Acknowledgement begins for me, with the actual ground beneath my feet.
If you zoom in on this box, you’ll see the lid is a map of North America — the continent I stand upon. The land where I forage wisdom and feel a deep sense of connection.
It was violently appropriated from the peoples who stewarded it with respect and reciprocity for millennia — it is land disrupted, divided, and claimed through colonization.
And still, the land gives in abundance.
May we learn to treat it like a mother, and all its beings like family.
Today, I practice acknowledgement by cultivating respectful relationships, learning about historical and ongoing harms, and participating — however imperfectly — in the ongoing work of creating a more equitable and inclusive future.
Old books, maps and discarded pages invite us to create art thoughtfully with the well-being of the earth and it's inhabitants in mind, remembering that art paper doesn't have to be new to be beautiful.
I love to work with reclaimed and upcycled papers because:
You can try folding your own rectangular box by following this short video on YouTube.
The box and lid are designed by Tomoko Fuse.
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| Small Traditional Masu Box |
