Last weekend I had to go to my grandma's house, that is currently empty, due to the fact that she is institutionalized. I preferred going by myself because I had a mission: to cut down two trees.
Because it wasn't a lot of pressure from my elder`s side, I arrived around 3PM. As I was slowing down towards the gate, I saw a car that was parked in front of it. It belonged to my neighbors from across the street. I had to wait for twelve cars to pass in order to cross it. In the meantime the voices inside my head were arguing: “Do you really need them to move the car? Why do you insist on disturbing them? How badly do you want to complete your mission?” After I politely asked, they were surprisingly happy to do so. The driveway was now cleared and I parked gracefully.
I grabbed the bag containing the round, white robot vacuum cleaner, entered the living room and put it to good use. Next, I took the keys from the drawer and went to the barn, in search of the long axe. It was nowhere in sight. I panicked. Men are deeply connected with their tools. We need to be useful and handy. If anything should happen to the tools, our mission will fail.
I rushed back to the pantry. I managed to find the short one on a shelf, and above it there it was: hanged by a nail: the one handed saw, that was curved like a sickle. It had a double set of parallel teeth and a rubber grip. Perfect for the job at hand. (pun intended)
I went to the garden. Next to the wall, an elder wood had grown so much, that it passed through the open bathroom window. That was my last straw. I put on my worker gloves and started pushing and pulling. Working in the shade wasn't hard, but the mixed heat from both inside and outside was getting on my nerves. As the branches were piling up on my left side, sweat was dripping into my eyes and ears. I stopped to catch my breath. The spirit of the elder wood was whispering to me. In the middle of the pile I could see a near perfectly straight 1.8 meter staff. I chopped the remaining branches and sawed off the ends at right angles. I felt it wanted to come home with me. It was just like I had slain the dragon and took his golden eggs.
I went back to get a drink of water and to place the vacuum in another room. It's useful to delegate some tasks.
Coming down the stairs into my front yard, the heat struck me blind. It was unbearable, because this time I didn't have the luxury of shade. In front of me stood a plum tree, two thirds of which had been broken by the heavy winds. The branches were three times as thick as the last tree and I was so tired. I struck the bent tree with my axe three times. It was too light and it's head was loosening.
I put it down and started sawing the tree slowly. As with all great problems, I had to cut the large branches into small pieces. Next, I had to drag them across the yard, into the pile of hay near the back fence. I managed it in four trips. Heading back towards the house, my thirst was unimaginable. I picked the last three apples from a tree and ate them instantly. The moral: Never ignore your needs.
Finally, I got into the house, took a large drink of water, emptied the vacuum, and relaxed on a long folding chair.
That night I couldn`t sleep, because the staff was still whispering to me. I stood up until 3AM researching elder wood: in the Harry Potter world, it's symbolism, the hardness of the various types of wood, even found out a doctoral thesis on it's usage. Historically it was used for flutes or building fences, and it's bark contained high amounts of cyanide. (hmm, lucky me)
In the morning, I sat it down on the kitchen table on a roll of napkins, and started painting it. Acrylic paint is great for wood because it provides water resistance. It was my closing ceremony, after which I received a beautiful, colorful staff of power. Of course I danced with it after it dried, in a martial arts kata that I wrongly thought I wouldn't remember.
This weekend's woodwork brought me closer towards myself and my needs.
It was a pleasure to emBARK in this deep journey.
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