Spiritual Life League Hosts Origami Gratitude Project

11/10/2022

The Spiritual Life League recently hosted an Origami Gratitude Project inviting community members to participate in the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, first used for religious purposes.

Last weekend, more than 100 paper sculptures were designed and displayed in the Well as a visual show of gratitude. Inside each crafted paper form is a note detailing something personal for which the creator is thankful.

“We asked each person participating to make whatever shape they wanted, representing the diversity of our community and the variation of our interests,” explained Vicky Gao ‘24. “We all have a lot of things and people in our lives that we may say ‘thank you’ to, but we don’t always take time to express our gratitude, nor do we have a formal way of showing our gratitude to others. And yet that is so important because we can’t live without each other. So I hope this project is motivating and inspiring.”

The Spiritual Life League is one of three Service Leagues on campus and is led by Ellery Blurton ‘24 and Chaplain Beth Barksdale. Every Friday, the League meets during lunch to discuss ways to contribute to campus and community spiritual wellness. Gao, along with Annie Chen ‘24, Sophie Taylor ‘24, Ella Bowers Young ‘23, Isabella Croker Poole ‘25, Priscella Bennsion ‘25, Kate Wu ‘26, and Jane Wu ‘26, were the Spiritual Life League members overseeing this particular project. Gao and Croker Poole also took the lead on the visual display of the origami in the Well.

Barksdale, who frequently draws from the inspiration of poets, offered the words of William Blake: "To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower, to hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” It is her hope that the suspended origami forms remind everyone to pause for a moment “every morn’ and every night” and see that they are surrounded by beauty and love.

The Spiritual Life League will move all of the origami to the Chapel prior to the School’s Thanksgiving service. Community members are encouraged to use the supplies provided in the Small Drawing Room to create more paper sculptures until then.

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