Bearing Down

• Over the past few weeks we have looked at the inability of an idea to keep our minds clear and focused on the truth and the necessity for us to find and remember who we are in craft work. This week I am looking a little closer at the precise place for an idea linked to an action (willing).  Much of the time we think of willing something as deciding we want to do it, selecting an option among many. So, should I start this project or that, or should I sand or plane? In fact, the way I’m using the word here is when an idea is joined to an action. It is our selection. All this counts for nothing unless we actually do it, unless we bear down. This is the arc of craft: from the spark of an idea to making it actually happen. The idea aims us, our experience guides us along the way, and our willing provides the finished craft.  This bearing down is an important part because it brings our craft – and so our new self – into being. Through it, we are educated and free. We are educated because it is when we bear down that we find out if our idea actually holds water. We find its weak points. We are freed because it lets our self into the atmosphere. Through our craft, we find ourselves no matter how small that missing piece might be at this moment. So, having the idea, the resources, the selection, it’s time to bear down.