Taking Stock

Yesterday I was in the shop putting a last coat of poly on the little pine end table and I step back to take stock of everything. I realized then that my shop area was a mess. That it was time to clean up, something I normally put off.

Anyway I began to cleanup and putting scrap pieces into the scrap bin, you never know when that little pieces of wood will fit just right. sweeping up from under the saw putting up tools. you know cleaning the shop. When I was distracted by my three planes. I know just three?

I started to look at them and I realized that I had put the bevel wrong side up and that was why it my jack and jointer plane was so hard to use. Well that got me to thinking about what i am trying to do in the shop and I realized that I allowed myself to become too distracted over everything. One purpose of the shop for me is it is my personal no-fly zone. It is where the trivial or significant daily events are not supposed to intrude. I also as i straighten the blades given the a hit on the stone since they were out of the planes I thought why not.

Anyway I digress as I was burnishing the backside of the blades I realized that i was going to have to enforce my no-fly zone myself. That in the future I was going to have to turn on the radio to my classical or jazz station I like to listen to, not worry if I miss a phone call and Zen out, focusing on what my hands are doing. What the wood was telling me and in general focus on the work.

I allowed myself to become too angry over things that I cannot control and consequently I was fighting the wood, the tools and my common sense.

A few years ago someone came out with a book called "Don't sweat the small stuff. (it is all small stuff)" and I think that I will need to post this concept on my shop wall. Yes my children will do things that drives me crazy and yes my government will continue to self-destruct and I will meditate on what I should do about it and what i can do about it. But, in the end accept that first i must control my own life and surrounding accepting that there is not much I can do about everything else.

This afternoon I am going out into the shop and finish rubbing down the pine end table and give the top a good coat of wax making it ready for my wife to do with it what she wants. Then I am going to finish the cleanup thinking about my next project a stand for my Delta 9 in band saw. I am not going to worry about if I have enough money saved or if there is enough food in the pantry to last a couple of months or anything else until I come out of the shop. Then I will worry about my kids future my wife's and my own, and of the country. Then again maybe not.