Are you a weaver or a wrapper?

I’ve been thinking about this topic for a long time…how people approach life and integrate experiences into who they are. After I returned from India for Theresa and Atma’s wedding, I realized how much the trip had changed me, and how India will now always be a part of me…becoming part of the tapestry that makes me…me. This has always been how travel has affected me, and it made me wonder if it is the same for everyone, or if other people are able to enjoy the places they visit but don’t come out of it feeling ‘different’. Which is what led me to the concept of weavers and wrappers.

If each person is like a unique and beautiful tapestry, do we start out as an empty loom? Do we have some fundamental design that we get from our family that is built upon throughout our lives? Or is our design set? Here is what I think:

A weaver integrates the experiences of life into their tapestry, meaning they will never really know what the final outcome is until…well, I guess until the end. Each day, each new place, new experience, each person who touches our lives adds to the color and texture of what we are. This means though, that our tapestry is really never finished.

A wrapper takes comfort in knowing who they are and where they came from. Their design comes from their family and ancestry, their nationality, or whatever they feel truly defines them and makes them fundamentally who they are. This doesn’t mean they do not enjoy new experiences, or are closed to new cultures. It means that they observe and appreciate these things with some level of detachment, much as an anthropologist must remain unbiased.

I consider myself a weaver. What are you? What do you think about this theory?