Merton chuang tzu6/6/2023 ![]() Finally, my heart feels right I have few drives or compulsions, no needs, and few attractions, unless playing with grandkids could be considered an attraction. Perhaps only lately, since I have retired and shed all ambitions have I felt free, without concerns. Much of my life the “rules” have seemed to fit too tightly, resulting in blisters and corns. I often wished the rest of my life had been as free and without concerns, but it never seemed to be. I stayed with woodworking for many years because it became a form of meditation, a physical escape from abstract ideas where my mind would become free, without concerns. ![]() I was particularly fond of hand planes and came to prefer those to sandpaper because they produced a superior finish, especially when followed by a hand scraper. Though I never came close to attaining the mastery of “Ch’ui the draftsman” at times I felt like I had mastered particular tools. I did devote several years to woodworking and managed to become skilled in some aspects, at least skilled for someone with no official training. If I’d had another lifetime, or two, I would have loved to be a woodworker, a craftsman. ![]() I could probably spend weeks discussing Merton’s Chuang Tzu, but I’m going to end the discussion for now with another short poem that really appeals to me. ![]()
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