Interesting article and very nice photos.
I thought about the saying a bit and was wondering what it meant in my life right now.
As I'm traveling in a van, not working, I feel like on rare occasions, I had no motivation to "weave something myself" and the strings were just lying around. These were some akward moments but they showed me that it's also important to have a friendly framework around you in your everyday life that supports you in times where you have no motivation left.

I mean didn't everybody at some point had a bad morning, where one just wanted to go to bed again but didn't because (s)he had to go to work. And then realizing (s)he had one of the most productive or fullfilling days.

So maybe sometimes you have no choice but to be the puppet.
But often enough, the people on your side pulling the strings are doing an amazing job and you can be greatful for that. ;D