What is Not Seen

Frederic Bastiat wrote an article titled "That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Not Seen". This article dealt with the unseen effects of economic policy and it made a lot of sense to me. I recently read a book called "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. This book had a profound effect on me in that it dealt with the unseen effects of our actions and interactions with others.

What I discovered is that even though we may see our actions as positive, we may not be aware of adverse effects those actions may be having on others. The glaring example illustrated in this book is the US backing of Joseph Mobutu, the despotic ruler of Zaire for 30 years. We supported him because his opposition was thought to have Communist leanings and maybe he did. What we do know is that Mobutu used his power to enrich himself on the backs of the citizens of his own country, funneling nearly all the wealth of Zaire into his coffers, while nearly everyone else starved. All that we in the US saw is that we were keeping the Communists at bay, what was not seen was the despicable treatment of these people at the hand of Mobutu.

This brings me to my subject. In my day to day life, in the causes I support, in my politics, in the way I treat other people, what am I not seeing that could be harming or mistreating others? In our narcissism, are we leaving wreckage in our wake? I am not trying to get everyone to second guess each decision, I just think that perhaps we should step back occasionally and see what our actions may be doing to others unintentionally.

I believe there are those who would intentionally harm others to get ahead, but that being said, most people have good motives and intentions. Sometimes we become blinded to the adverse consequences our actions may cause because we are focused on the consequences we are trying to bring about. Let's broaden our focus to ensure we are doing good things for everyone, not just for ourselves.

Vote For The Ugly Candidate

I am thinking of trying a new strategy in my voting this upcoming election. Vote for the ugly one! Just think, if a candidate isn't much to look at then perhaps the media won't want him or her on the front page. Therefore they won't make a bigger deal of the candidate than they really are. They won't handpick snippets of speeches that will make them look good in the eyes of the public. Their rivals won't be downplayed as nutjobs or hacks. If we pick the ugly candidate we will get who we think we are getting. If we can bring this strategy to the forefront, American politics could be transformed. There are some great examples of the ugly guy being great. Abraham Lincoln and John Adams to name a couple. So pick the ugly guy! It could make all the difference.

A Lone Island Cannot Stand

Envision a young family with a covered wagon, a milk cow, ten chickens and provisions loaded in the wagon, toiling toward a new home in frontier America. Once they arrive at their destination, if timber is available, a cabin will be hewn from the native trees. If no timber grows there, they will build from adobe, rock, whatever is available to them.

Next land will be cleared, a backbreaking endeavor, soil will be tilled with hoe or plow, seeds will be planted and rain will be awaited to water their crop. If the weather cooperates and pests can be kept at bay, there will be a harvest that will hopefully see the family through the winter. The chickens will be set on eggs in hopes that the flock will grow, providing essential protein for the family. The cow will provide milk and with any luck a calf to sell for cash or to grow the herd.

This was life in frontier America. If all parts of the equation worked the family would eke through the winter, starve through the summer, then harvest again in the fall. Theirs was a life of true self-sufficiency and if disaster struck in the form of sickness, drought or man-made mistakes, death could follow and often did.

I find it interesting that we talk often of self-sufficiency these days in our world of convenience. We go to gun shows to stock up on ammunition. We go to camps and classes to learn to be self sufficient. But in the back of our minds it is all unreal because we know that if our milk cow dies or dries up, well, Safeway is just down the road. Chickens and their eggs are cheaper to buy in town than they are to raise yourself. If I can't take care of myself I know there is a safety net to catch me.

While I believe it is good to learn these skills, (I raise chickens, garden, hunt, trap and fish, spending more money on the produce than I would at the local grocery) I believe that a more essential characteristic our world needs is that of community interdependence.

Community interdependence is essentially networking and doing business with people in our community. Through community interaction we can combine our skills and knowledge with that of those around us, which exponentially increases our combined knowledge. We increase the economy in our local area because the monies we pay for products or services from our neighbors, stays in the neighborhood. We create our own safety net by making friends who will look out for each other.

This plan works well only if the members of the community contribute their best efforts to living independently. A contradiction I know, but to have a thriving community, its members must be strong. Strength comes from hard work and self improvement. Today it seems like we are all looking out for ourselves. All our efforts go to making our own lives more comfortable. What if we all worked our hardest, took care of our own needs and wants, then looked around for someone to help. We wouldn't need "big brother" to take half our money to "care for the poor". We could take care of our own, eliminating the need for forced contributions.

This all seems like pie in the sky but there are civilizations that have done this, the City of Enoch, many native cultures, some religious cultures such as the Amish. The key to success in this endeavor is the total commitment and free choice of all members of the society. The reason communism didn't work is because it was forced on its members. The reason our national welfare system doesn't function well is because it is forced upon us. If we are forced the incentive to do well is taken from us and we will not perform to our best level.

We need to start now to begin building community, I see it as a vital ingredient in saving our crumbling nation and world. We can no longer be an "island unto ourselves" and expect to remain a free and independent people. As in Thomas Paine's time, "these are the times that try mens' souls", we can no longer afford to be "summer soldiers" in our fight for freedom. The fight must begin in our own homes and communities, only then can freedom grow outward.

"TRADITION"

Are your culture or traditions making you less than you could be? I watched a movie this week that really brings this question to light. The movie is "The Help". It is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's at the beginnings of the unrest there caused by the civil rights movement. The story is told from the perspective of the black housekeepers who worked in the homes of the white people in the city. Many of these maids had worked for the same families for two generations, caring for the children as well as their parents.

It was enlightening to see how the attitudes from one generation carried on to the next. In Mississippi if you were white, according to tradition, a black person was less than you, almost as if they were a different species. Because of that supposed difference, those people were to be treated differently, as a lesser entity.

Of course, movies tend to generalize and sensationalize situations, but I could see myself there, acting in my "proper" role. We may not be dealing with racial issues in our personal circumstances, but we are dealing with situations in which culture or family norms prescribe how we are to act in these situations.

The difficult part of this is that when one is in a situation it is very difficult to see a way to be different. We have grown up with the expectation of how we are to act or what attitudes we will carry toward others. These cultural "norms" will often dictate to us how much education we should get, what church we will go to, who we marry and what type of work we will do. When one decides to change, our friends and family will often be our strongest deterrents to making that change, because the fear of difference is a strong motivator.

I would ask the question, what in our culture or traditions is holding us back? We need to educate ourselves and then take a close look at what we take for granted. Do my actions reflect a conscious decision or am I doing this thing because that is how it has always been done? I am not saying we need to question our faith in God or some other basic beliefs we may have. But if we only believe these things because our parents did, then we should study them out for ourselves and come to our own decisions. At this point, then one can decide if a belief or action is truly a good one or if it is being done because that is how it has always been done.

I heard a story once from a family friend in which a young married woman was preparing a ham for dinner. She took the ham out of the refrigerator, cut one end off, placed it in a pan and then baked it. Her husband asked her why she cut the end off the ham. She replied that that was how her mother always did it, so that was how she was going to do it. When the mother was asked the reason for this she replied that her roasting pan was too small for the ham, so she always had to cut them off. Are we carrying on traditions that perhaps don't need to be? Let's take a look around and really analyze what we do, and what we could change to make our world better.

Making of a Masterpiece

I read a very interesting book this last month. It was "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. I was expecting it to be a "pump you up" success book, my expectations were incorrect. In fact, I was a bit upset for two thirds of the book until I had time to digest its message. Gladwell essentially states that you won't become a great success until you have put the time into your endeavors to become a master in your chosen field. The magic number seems to be 10,000 hours. Even then those hours may not pay off unless the right opportunity presents itself to you after you are a master.

This message didn't set well with me. I have always envisioned that if I could visualize something it would be mine. I still believe this, but as I digested this book some hard truths began to sink in. The most basic fact is that my success can only be as great as my preparations. How can one expect to win a marathon without excruciating training leading up to it? A small business can grow larger only if the skills of leadership and management grow first.

Another thing I came to realize is that real personal growth comes through the struggle of becoming. If one is to become a master, the character built through hard work or practice is the pivotal element in that success. I would bet that Michaelangelo's failures far outnumbered his masterpieces. Yet, his successes still stand as a witness to the skills he mastered as an artist.

This brings the question to the forefront, what am I trying to master? If we are coasting along on our past skills and learning it is time to push ourselves to learn something new, which we can love and eventually master. At this point we will be ready to take advantage of new opportunities presented to us.

It's All Relative

The world as seen through our own eyes reflects the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

After working all week manufacturing a log kit for our next project, my friend invited me to go fishing. We packed, hooked the boat trailer to the pickup truck and began driving to our destination, the Kenai River on the beautiful Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.

Two hours into the four hour trip we came to a complete standstill in traffic. We grumbled, moaned, waited and waited. We waited for 4 hours hearing bits and pieces about an accident that had closed the highway indefinitely. As it was late, we decided to roll out our sleeping bags and get some sleep until traffic started moving. Others found this a great opportunity to break out the booze and start the weekend rolling, resulting in little sleep on our part.The highway reopened at about 3am and we finally resumed our journey.

The fishing was fantastic, making up for our inconvenient night of interrupted travel and sleep. We caught enough sockeye salmon to fill both our freezers with, in my opinion, the best fish in the world.

After returning home, completely worn out, we learned about the accident. Turns out there were two separate accidents, in one of which a man and his wife on a motorcycle were killed, in the other two small children died. What utter devastation to these two families!

After feeling very small and petty for my grumblings during that long night, my thoughts turned to how our circumstances seem to dictate how we see and interact with the world. A person living in a nomadic, tribal culture and someone living in a high-rise in New York City will have a much different definition of "home". We seem to think that everyone is the same because our neighbors tend to live in the same culture and circumstances as we do.

Before we judge others, we should stop ourselves, realizing that we do not see the world from their eyes. We cannot understand others until we have lived their lives.

One way we can increase our understanding is to read and study literature from around the world. This gives us a small glimpse into the culture of those around us, helping us see the world from their eyes. As the proverb says, before you criticize someone ,first walk a mile in their shoes.

Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

Body and Soul

Two years ago last month my father passed away. He was seventy years old in seeming good health when he was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. He lived six weeks almost to the day from his diagnosis. We got to spend a lot of time together before he passed and now I'm glad that we knew he was going. I just came to realize something today that I learned from this experience that I hadn't thought of before.

During the first three to four weeks after his diagnosis my Dad was very concerned with things that he felt that he hadn't gotten done, that in his mind had to be done before he was gone.  He worked at setting his affairs in order, making sure that we would take care of my Mom after he was gone. He insisted that we take him shopping in order to buy a laptop computer, hook it up to the internet all so he could personally look up two ancestors that he was curious about. He ate all the things he loved, visited with friends and family, He seemed to be trying to sew up all the loose ends of his life.

The last two weeks were completely different. He lost control of most of his bodily functions and when that happened, he seemed to disengage himself from all earthly things. It was like he took on a spiritual existence as opposed to a physical one. He talked of seeing loved ones long since passed. Waiting for his late father to come and get him. It was as if he was done with his body and had become a spiritual being. This brings me to the point of my epiphany today.

It seems to me that we go through life living for the tangible, day to day experiences that we call mortality. This can be fulfilling and rewarding to a point but there seems to always be something missing. What we are missing is that we are spiritual beings living in a mortal, tangible body. The physical can only satisfy us to a point. Complete fulfillment can only come when the experience of life is brought to a spiritual level as well as a physical one.

Lasting happiness can never come from without. No matter how many new toys or cars or clothes one buys, they only provide temporary enjoyment. True happiness comes when the inner spirit is affected. This comes from doing your best in all your endeavors, overcoming  challenges, truly loving others and being right with God. True joy has nothing to do with the tangible because these things are fleeting. When our soul is engaged then our happiness can be complete. To be truly happy, find a path that will engage you body and soul.

Skip the Pity Party

The past month or so I have been reading "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy. To be honest it wasn't my favorite read. In my mind it came near to being a broken story, with a just bit of redemption at the end. The message I took away from the book was a good one though. A person must live for God or good to live a fulfilling, vital life. The whole plot revolved around this concept.

Anna's whole existence revolved around pleasing herself, resulting in her destruction. Blatant examples of this harmful behavior surround us. Drug and alcohol abuse, pornography, and immoral activities are among them. When a person focuses on self-indulgence, their soul diminishes bit by bit until eventually it is gone. Most of us sway back and forth, sometimes living for the good, sometimes for ourselves

It is human nature to be self-centered, but it seems that there is also an underlying desire in us to do good. Tolstoy seemed to think that this desire for good came from a Christian or God-centered upbringing. I think it goes deeper than that. My religious beliefs teach that we are all born with a spark of Divinity in us, that we are God's children and therefore that desire for good is always there. Only when we, through wrong choice and action, smother that desire do we become unwholesome people.

Toward the end of the book, Levin, another central character in the story made a brilliant discovery. He found that although we make mistakes every day, if we just shrug those moments off and live for the good, life takes on a whole new meaning. Instead of punishing ourselves or others for failure, we recognize the fault, try to correct it and move on. We know that we will fail again and again,but it doesn't matter, as long as we have the hope that God will make us better.

Self-pity makes a pitiful person. When things go wrong, as they sometimes do, just chalk them up to experience, dust yourself off and move forward in the faith that God is at the wheel and will take us in the right direction. With God as our guide, we can manifest all the good that is within us and perhaps the world will become a little bit better because that goodness was added to it.

Happy Independence Day

July 2, 1776 the United States of America was born. The signers with their pens had declared themselves sovereign, freeing themselves and their fellow Americans from the false notion of the divine right of kings. They declared to the world, as John Locke stated, that "as sons of Adam, all men are kings." If we are sovereign, meaning the right to rule over ourselves, then why is it that at every turn we are told that we must do this or that?

As members of a society we enter into a compact to live together under a specific form of governance. We give up some of our sovereignty to be a part of society. The question in my mind is, to what degree am I required to give up my sovereignty?

The tendency of any government is to expand its rule and power. For this expansion to occur the sovereignty of its subjects must be diminished. For example, a group of homeowners want to "improve" their neighborhood, so they set up an association, make some rules and if anyone wants to live in the neighborhood they must conform to these rules. They had to give up a portion of their sovereignty.

This is fine at the beginning, but over time problems arise in the neighborhood, new rules are made, the people become more and more regulated to the point that the association injects itself, painfully, into the lives of everyone. This happens at every level of government and occurs because the citizens won't govern themselves so they must be acted upon.

The real tragedy occurs when governments try to solve  issues at a higher level of government than is needed. For example, inner city schools are doing poorly so in a knee-jerk reaction, national education laws are made and enforced that may help the inner city schools, but have no, or even an adverse effect in rural schools. Government officials call for a "mandate", meaning a new law(diminishing your sovereignty once again) to fix the problem.

This type of reaction has occurred throughout the history of our great nation. From the Sedition Acts, to the Patriot Act, to Obamacare, these reactions to adverse situations have resulted in losses of our sovereignty. We have become an issue based society instead of a law-based society. Through lack of self-governance, we have felt the need to regulate every issue. Logically, if this continues, our freedom will be lost. Only where there is rule of law and self control can the people be free.

Those who fought and died for us didn't do it so we could live in a nanny state. They fought so we could govern ourselves. They fought so that we as kings could be sovereign in our homes. America needs to pull itself up by the bootstraps, take responsibility for ourselves and go to work. The entitlement mentality must end or the future will be an Orwellian nightmare. We as a People are better than we have let ourselves become. Today is the day to take our responsibility and our sovereignty back.

Dress It Up!

We just put the finishing touches on a new log home. Custom cabinetry, large decks, gorgeous windows, first class amenities. All these dress ups make this home beautiful, but it is what is beneath the paint and trim that makes this a great home. A strong foundation, proper engineering , construction and quality materials are what make a lasting home. It is what you can't see that makes all the difference. If the plumbing or electrical work is shabby or faulty, this home won't be a pleasant place to live. If the heating system is undersized or unbalanced, then it won't give comfort to it's occupant's.
 A person is just like a beautiful home. We can dress ourselves up on the outside, but if we're wrong inside all the good looks in the world won't cover up the flaws beneath. Blatant examples of this have emerged in  recent current events. Charlie Sheen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Representative Weiner, all good looking on the outside, but with interior flaws. Not to set myself on a pedestal or to be judgmental, we all have flaws that we don't want others to see. I'm just suggesting that instead of trying to cover those flaws, we should pick one that we would like to change and change it. Do a remodel, so to speak. When we are right on the inside, there is no need to hide anything and the dress-ups only add beauty.
Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

The Profitable Servant

In Sunday school today the topic of study was Matthew 25, in which several of the parables of Jesus were taught. The one which specifically impressed upon my mind was the parable of the talents, in which a master goes away and leaves a certain stewardship with three of his servants. Five, two and one talent to each respectively. Upon the master's return each of the servants is called to account for the stewardship given him.

The first two servants are glad to report that they have doubled the value of the talents given them, but the third servant returned only that which the Master had given him. The Master lavishes the wealth created by the servants upon each of them and makes them rulers in His kingdom. But the "unprofitable" servant is stripped of that which he was given and his talent was given to the servant with ten talents.

What was the difference between the three servants? The first two took the initiative to put their masters money to work, taking the risk that it could be lost. The unprofitable servant let fear stop him from trying to increase his master's money. How often do we allow ourselves, out of fear of loss, to do nothing with that which we have been given to do?

It occurred to me that we have been given a stewardship, whatever that may be, and God doesn't care if we fail in it as long as we make a serious effort to improve it. True growth comes only when fear of the unknown is pushed aside and we move forward in the faith that the outcome will be for the best. Edison tried a thousand different combinations before he found one that worked in the invention of the light bulb, but there was not a single failure in his mind, only progress toward the desired end.

If life doesn't seem to be working out as planned, just keep working through it with the faith that where you are going will lead you in the direction you need to take. Keep learning all you can and doing your best and the Master will say to you at the time of accounting, "well done thou good and faithful servant."

"STROKE"

Canoeing with several boys under the age of 11 can be an interesting experience. Add a fifteen mile per hour wind and this experience becomes challenging. Add to this the attempt to reach a certain destination and this experience becomes a trying one.
Upon embarking from the shore, we encountered a stiff crosswind. If you have ever experienced this in a canoe then you know that the boat acts like a sail, the wind pushing you where it will. This can be overcome with strong paddling in an organized, concerted effort. Ten year old cub scouts don't fit this description. After some quick training and encouragement, we were able to rescue ourselves from drifting into the leeward shore. With a little more work and learning, we could go in the general direction we desired. With application of the training received and much hard work, we actually reached our destination.
This can be applied to our lives and our work. When we first start out it seems that we encounter stiff opposition. This requires us to learn quickly, so as to keep our heads above water, so to speak. With this foundational learning in place, then our technique can be perfected, making us much more effective at what we are endeavoring to do. Emerson said,"that which we persist in doing becomes easier - not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased."
When the winds are at their strongest, that is the moment when we grow the most.
Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

That First Step is a Doozy!

What a busy week! It seems that season is upon us once again. There is a lot going on in the business and then there is gardening and yard work at home. It seems odd at times that spring would be such a busy time compared with other times of the year. Perhaps it is the fact that spring is when much of the work is done for the year but hardly any of the benefit comes until later.

For instance, at work we have done a tremendous amount of work since January, but we have been a little tight financially. We have a new home ready to sell to show for it and we have a cabin ready to build as well as a package we have shipped. This is mostly potential income at this point which will benefit us later. Meanwhile we have had to make payroll and try to keep afloat at home.

Much success in life follows this same pattern.  Much of the work needs to be done on faith, knowing that the reward will come at a later time. We can't always live for the future as there are needs that must be met today, but many of the most rewarding experiences come after we have applied the effort on faith. Move forward with those plans because God only rewards those who are willing to take the first few steps in the dark.

Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

Inglorious Gluttony

“A nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak.” -Alexis de Tocqueville.

What makes man weak? It is the continual misuse of free will that weakens us in body and soul. The weaker we become, the more easily we will be brought to servitude.

The American people have a sickness. This disease is brought on by excess. Never in the history of the world have a people been so rich, yet they are convinced that they need ever more to have a “good life”. What began as a free and industrious people has turned into a sea of men who feel that they are entitled to the best of everything. The question that has to be asked is why do they feel that way? Have they worked hard and smart enough to deserve those things?

Our government has enabled the entitlement crowd to flourish by giving in to these demands for equality. Tocqueville said that “the principle of equality begets two tendencies; the one leads men straight to independence, and may suddenly drive them into anarchy; the other conducts them by a longer, more secret, but more certain road, to servitude.” By the continual lust for self-gratification and greed for more, at the expense of government coffers, Americans have weakened themselves as a people. This can only lead to bondage.

St. Augustine, in his book “Confessions” described his life before his conversion as being an essential slave to his appetites. Though he had good intentions, was highly educated and a prominent member of society, he felt enslaved to bodily passions. We are like this in so many ways. Many of us have great intentions, but we are held back by the pleasures of life from achieving great accomplishments. “Wretched is every soul bound by the friendship of perishable things” says Augustine. 

Anyone truly great has paid dearly for his greatness. Louis L’Amour wrote in “To the Far Blue Mountains” that “A fat prophet could never start a new religion, while a lean, ascetic-looking one could do it easily.  A prophet should always come down from the mountain or out of the desert.  He should never arise from the table.” America has sat at the table too long. To be a truly great people again we will need to sacrifice greatly.

Sacrifice can come in many forms. What it will be for me will most assuredly be different from what will be sacrificed by others. Perhaps the sacrifice will be cutting the cord off the television or growing your own food so as to make a connection with the land again. Most likely it will, and should, take the form of giving of ourselves and our riches to benefit the down-trodden.

If we sacrifice willingly, the road to greatness will be short. But if the sacrifice is forced upon us by the loss of our liberty, brought upon us by our greed, the road will be long and treacherous. Let’s steer our own course to greatness.

Work it Together!

Today at work I was involved in installing pine tongue and groove paneling on a high vaulted ceiling. There was a crew of four people working on this project and we got a lot done. I contrasted this to doing the same job on my own home, by myself. What an incredible difference! I don't know how many times I climbed up and down scaffolding with an armful full of boards before I completed the job, but it was several. Today only a few trips were made up and down because there were installers up high and a cutman on the ground delivering boards to the installers.

I bring all this up for a reason. We may be doing the same work as others, but how are we doing it? Am I on my own? Am I working with someone who has the same interests? In many of our pursuits, would they go better if we had a little help? Rather than trying to be Superman(as I have done most of my adult life)we should find like-minded people to work with towards accomplishing our goals. The work will progress much faster and will be dynamic in it's growth. We all have a lot to do, so let's team up and get it done.

Just a thought from the chain saw carpenter.

Don't Take the Shortcut

I got an e-mail today on my company website http://timberlinelogcabins.com/ from a person who bought a log home from a supposed log home builder. After the first winter, in which they could hardly heat their home, they are looking for a contractor to come in and fix their home so it is liveable. I felt terrible for them that they had spent their hard-earned money on a poorly built home. I gave them a few references to people who do that kind of work and then I started thinking. Why do people cut corners and essentially cheat their customers to make more money?

I learned long ago that if you offer a quality product and great service that you will never lack customers. In a tough economy, the best advertising you can get is a good referral. You get good referrals by doing your best for each and every customer. If business people would live by this mantra, we would have little need for bonding, insurance and attorneys. Whatever it is that you do, try to do it the best you can.

Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

"Timber"

I helped a friend fall some very large cottonwood trees in his yard today. I always feel a little sadness at seeing such a large tree fall. Though these large trees were beautiful, they were also a nuisance, they scattered branches and "cotton" all over the yard each summer. Also nothing else would grow around them because they used all the water and blocked the sunlight.

 Life is like that at times. For instance, if a corporation or a government becomes too large, they smother everything else around them, choking the life out of smaller entities. What is there in your life that is blocking out everything else? Take stock to see if there is an "elephant" in the room that no one wants to talk about. Remember, the first step to making corrections is to identify the problem. Once identified, then steps can be taken to progress in life.

Just a thought from the chain saw carpenter.

Brain Food

After a long hard day of work my body is tired but my mind feels like it needs some exercise. So at the end of a long day I like to read something. I have started a study of the "Great Books", a compilation of classics from western civilization. Some of the books are very hard to read and understand, others are very enjoyable. I have learned a great deal about our cultural origins from them. So if you want a little brain exercise, try one out.

A little challenge for you from the chainsaw carpenter.

Get Off The Merry-Go-Round

In business if you do the same things expecting different results, you'll get very frustrated. The same result can be expected in the fight for freedom.With our freedoms eroding year by year, it is time to get out of our comfort zones and let our voice be heard by those who may not have heard it before.

I tend to keep to all that is familiar, don't you? I go to the same restaurants, hang out with the same friends, complain about politics with the same like-minded people. We grumble about the same things and the same politicians. It is ironic that since this has never changed anything that we would keep doing it. I recently read a book titled "Freedom Shift" by Oliver DeMille, in it he calls on us to form a new "freedom tribe" to make America freer. In order for this to happen he says that "many citizens must get past the natural human tendency to isolate ourselves in cocoons of people who agree with us. Freedom only comes when people of differing views work together on the common goal of liberty."

If you have conservative views, find someone who is more liberal leaning and try to find common ground. Everyone wants liberty, we just see different ways of getting there.

A thought on freedom from the chain saw carpenter.

Make it Great

My work takes me all over the state in which I live. Usually these locations are back in the woods off the beaten path. On rare occasions, I get to do a project that is visible by everyone. Of course, on these occasions I want my work to be at its best.

A thought came to mind that our quality should be at its best not only when it is on display, but all the time. If everyone would commit to their best work at all times, the world would be a more beautiful place. Contract lawyers would be out of a job, and we could all feel great at the end of each work day.

Just a thought from a chainsaw carpenter.

Keep an Edge on Your Tools

Have you ever tried to use a dull chainsaw? With a dull tool it takes twice as long and twice the amount of effort to get the job done. Not to mention the fact that the job becomes more dangerous.

Our mind and body are the same. A person who is healthy and in shape can accomplish more than someone who is otherwise. Likewise, a sharp mind is much more useful than a dull and unexercised one. Our minds and bodies stay sharp and in shape by concentrated effort. Want to get in shape? Guess what, watching Richard
Simmons won't work unless you do the moves with him. Want to get your brain in shape? Pick up a difficult book and stretch your mind.

With a sharp intellect we will keep ourselves above the crowd of mediocrity and accomplish great things.
 Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

Flex Those Muscles

When I pick up a log to set it in place I think of myself as a strong person. This begs the question, in what does my true strength lie? Is it in the bones and muscles or in something else? Ultimately our strength comes from God. 

For those of us who may be lacking faith, Robert Hutchins had some thoughts about what makes America strong, he said, "We have repeated to ourselves so much of late the slogan, 'America must be strong,' that we have forgotten what strength is. We appear to believe that strength consists of masses of men and machines. I do not deny that they have their role.

 

"But surely the essential ingredients of strength are trained intelligence, love of country, the understanding of its ideals, and such devotion to those ideals that they become a part of the thought and life of every citizen." 

It is time that we dust off our history books and find out what the American ideals are, before they are lost completely. 

Just a thought from the chainsaw carpenter.

A Cut Above

Today I was cutting lumber on my sawmill. Operating machinery such as this can be a bit monotonous, but I find that I have lots of time to think. As I watched the logs run back and forth through the blade I began to think about what I was actually doing. I was taking a tree, which has many great qualities in it's own right, and making something different and useful from it. Whether it be a log for a cabin or a board for a fence, that tree was changed into something different than it was before.
Many people think that we kill trees when we do this and in a way I guess they are right. I think that it is given a new life in the product that comes from it. Our lives are the same. Generally we live our lives the same each day, go to work, come home,go to work, come home, day in, day out. Then suddenly we are cut down, the bark is taken off us and when the process is done we are changed into something new. What a marvelous thing this can be, only by going through the milling process per se, can we be changed. To what new uses can we apply ourselves now that we have had value added to ourselves?
Changes or trials are never easy, but in them is where our true strength is found. Just a thought from a chain saw carpenter.

Sawdust in Your Collar

At the end of a day of working on a cabin, generally there is an accumulation of dust under my collar. This reminds me a little of life. One tends to gather a bit of debris on the road of life. If it wasn't there, how would you know if you had accomplished anything? Though aggravating, the "sawdust" of life is a reminder that, yes, I did something today. So don't be afraid to get dirty, as that is generally a sign of some of great progress.