Mother always said

"Never cut the (parcel) string, untie it and save it."

Apart from the thrift of saving the string (and wrapping paper - that generation knew all about recycling before it became trendy) there was something therapeutic about untying the knots.

I was reminded of this when I helped a friend unravel the skein of yarn she'd got into a tangle when trying to wind it into a ball. She said that the prospect of trying to unravel the mess made her feel claustraphobic. She wanted to cut her way out. With two of us working together on the problem, we made steady progress, passing the ball of wound yarn through the nest of knots which loosened as we worked.

There are times when life gets so horribly tangled you can't easily unravel it, and you know there are only two ways forward: cutting out the knot and starting again with new thread, or sitting with it, and working it through. Just when you think it will never unravel, you trace through the tangles and, suddenly, when you least expect it you realise you're free from the knots and life is moving along smoothly once more.

The sense of achievement at unraveling what was a confused muddle is well worth the effort. Each time we 'untie the knots' instead of cutting them, we gain more confidence in our abilities and strengths and store them for use in the future.