Just a bit more for students...It is interesting that young men and women will spend hours practicing their free throws. There is a meditative quality to dribbling the ball, aligning the posture and putting the ball through the hoop. It feels good even if you aren't part of a team. If you are on a team you may work extra hard preparing for the game, knowing that you wouldn't want to let the team down in a close one, and knowing that the cheers of the crowd would feel great if you sink it.

It may seem a stretch to compare basketball with the hours spent in the wood shop developing skill to do beautiful work. But the interior mental "zone" is the same. The state of "flow" is the same. You know in the wood shop when you sink it. There are rim shots and swishers, and some shots that miss. The thing you don't have is the crowd. Those who appreciate your work the most will do so when you aren't around. They may enjoy it in the privacy of their homes, when a detail or a surface catches the attention of a hand or eye. In basketball, when the game is over and your team has won or lost, the cheering or sadness fades quickly.

When you make something out of wood, if it is beautifully made, and useful enough to gain a sheltered place in someone's home, it will last for generations. Long after the game has passed, and even after the players have gone from the earth, the well crafted object will live on and carry with it, the attention and devotion of its maker. What you make in the wood shop can be an expression of your highest aspirations and abilities and be treasured far beyond your own times. You may never hear the applause. You may never even know those who most treasure your work. But that should never stop you from taking the shot.

The photo above is of a redbud taken this morning in the woods outside my home.