I was sorting through some stuff that I have collected over the past few years and stumbled over this little piece. I don't think that I wrote it, it doesn't sound like me, but I think that whoever did write it has experienced many of the same things that I experience when I carve.
Renewal - I can create something useful and beautiful from nature. It is a dance we do together. Making a spoon harms nothing and may actually add to the beauty in the world.
Joy - Carving is a joyful pleasure. It allows me to focus, frees my mind from abstraction, and strengthens my hands. The only person I can save is myself, and carving this spoon saves me.
Equality - Anyone can carve spoons.
Symbolism - This small wooden spoon and how it came from my hands is gentle encouragement to me of larger things I might be able to do.
Completeness - In carving a spoon I cut the block from the raw wood and watch the spoon emerge.
Friendship - I honor my friend each time I make a spoon. I only need a few spoons, so I can also honor other people by giving them away.
Democracy - There's orneriness in carving a spoon. It's my way of quietly but emphatically expressing my beliefs. A wooden spoon and plastic spoon say very different things.
Human expression - Each spoon I carve ends up unique. I hope the same for my life and yours.
Usefulness - Carving a spoon makes me be fully present. I listen better. I find that I need to say fewer things because my hands and mind are fruitfully at work. I can wait until my heart is pounding before I need to utter a word.
Humility - Yes, it does all these things for me but, in the end, it's just a wooden spoon.
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