understanding 4 things.

The world would be a better place if people in general and at all levels of society were to understand 4 things.

• The ability to do difficult things is earned through extended effort and application of will.
• By each person acquiring or attempting to acquire the ability to do difficult and diverse things, character and morality are instilled in humanity.
• By doing difficult things yourself, you begin to understand the investment that others have made before you in times past and in your own time.
• We each have the responsibility to encourage craftsmanship and creativity, whether in the arts, or in music or any other demanding field of meaningful effort.

How do we identify a meaningful effort?  Meaning can be found in the simple challenge of doing difficult things, but it's best when we work hard on developing skills that have positive impact on the lives of others and the community at large.

An article in the most recent wooden boat magazine suggested that the man builds the boat, and that the boat builds the man. Is that not always the case when a human being attempts to create? Even a thing as simple as a wooden box can have profound effect on its maker.

The photo is from back in the days when these simple principles were widely understood.

Along these same lines, an experiment in Iceland led by an American researcher, Harvey Milkman, has dramatically reduced teenage drinking and substance abuse by giving students the opportunity to do real things, putting them on a natural high. How An American Helped Iceland Fix It's Teenage Drinking Problem. Anyone who has spent time in a wood shop, will be familiar with the neuro-hormones that accompany creative engagement.

Today in the Clear Spring School wood shop my middle school students will be designing a tool box for the garden, and my elementary school students will have a practice day with various tools.

Make, fix, and create. Provide others with the encouragement to learn likewise.