Jeg vil ikke være perfekt, men tilgivende!

Looking at dovetails, forgiveness comes to mind. I've been cutting "through" dovetails and "half blind" dovetails for the first time since my stroke, and realizing I'm not quite as acute as I once was. Of  course I can blame it a bit on trying to make perfect dozuki cuts in white oak, and then chiseling tight to the marked line, when white oak is not the most cooperative wood. 

I can start afresh and get no better results, or I can remember the reasons for having done what I did in the first place. It has been a test, and the perfect craftsman I am not.

If the drawer was a utilitarian failure, not fitting as prescribed, I'd be unwilling to overlook its flaws and my own, and recut the joints but it fits as planned, and so I'll make do and forgive myself. And a bit of filler will help.

Forgiveness of self prepares one for the difficulty of forgiving others. And a bit of forgiveness is what it takes to build communities.  Forgiveness of self... something you learn from craftsmanship. 

Make, fix and create...