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I changed my journal title to "I Chop Wood, And Carry Water" because I think I had a glimmer of Nirvana on my walk to the grocery store this evening. I also felt this profound love for everyone and every thing...I'm sure there's a pill out there that can fix this state of mind. Just think, if the Buddha had the right medication... also if van Gogh had a little prozac, maybe he wouldn't have cut off his ear. Why the left ear?
No, I'm not intoxicated. I'm not sure when I first heard the line about chopping wood and carrying water, I think it might have been when my dad was getting into Zen. He always had a bunch of books around the house about Zen. That line kind of stuck in my consciousness. I think I even cut the words "I chop wood" into the back of my hand once in high school. When my English teacher saw that, he laughed and gave me a hug. Yeah, I was a weird kid. Out of the blue last week, I looked at my horoscope in the news paper, and it had that line in there. What are the odds?
It's hard to describe what it (the phrase) means to me. I was thinking about how if life had set me up for something better, I might not have been so driven to stick to, and learn my trade. I might not have put in all the years of mixing dough and melting chocolate if I had a chance to make more money doing something less laborious. Even now, after being a baker for over ten year, I feel like I'm half way there to being a Master Baker, whatever that it, but that half way further than someone who hasn't followed my path. The rewards of life aren't just given to you. They can't be. It's the experience that teaches you. I heard some cheesy pop song yesterday where the young singer was begging to put to sleep or something until he could wake up older with all the knowledge that comes with age. I wanted to find him and whack him over his head. DUDE! It's the getting there that gives you the knowledge. You can't just get it without the effort. Learning something profound often requires you to change the way you understand yourself.
There's more to it than the end result, it's the process too. I chop wood. I carry water. I do it every day. I don't do it so that one day I'll be the best wood chopper. I do it because the wood needs to be chopped.
No, I'm not intoxicated. I'm not sure when I first heard the line about chopping wood and carrying water, I think it might have been when my dad was getting into Zen. He always had a bunch of books around the house about Zen. That line kind of stuck in my consciousness. I think I even cut the words "I chop wood" into the back of my hand once in high school. When my English teacher saw that, he laughed and gave me a hug. Yeah, I was a weird kid. Out of the blue last week, I looked at my horoscope in the news paper, and it had that line in there. What are the odds?
It's hard to describe what it (the phrase) means to me. I was thinking about how if life had set me up for something better, I might not have been so driven to stick to, and learn my trade. I might not have put in all the years of mixing dough and melting chocolate if I had a chance to make more money doing something less laborious. Even now, after being a baker for over ten year, I feel like I'm half way there to being a Master Baker, whatever that it, but that half way further than someone who hasn't followed my path. The rewards of life aren't just given to you. They can't be. It's the experience that teaches you. I heard some cheesy pop song yesterday where the young singer was begging to put to sleep or something until he could wake up older with all the knowledge that comes with age. I wanted to find him and whack him over his head. DUDE! It's the getting there that gives you the knowledge. You can't just get it without the effort. Learning something profound often requires you to change the way you understand yourself.
There's more to it than the end result, it's the process too. I chop wood. I carry water. I do it every day. I don't do it so that one day I'll be the best wood chopper. I do it because the wood needs to be chopped.