"Craft: a form of knowledge, but not just knowledge of making, but a knowledge of being."*
Reading a book review of a history of crafts - in the sense of handicrafts or practical arts as well as time-worn, but increasingly rare practices, like sheep-herding - I was reminded of my obsession with the idea that teaching falls under this umbrella. For people who always felt teaching was the job that made sense to them, despite lower salaries or life in the panopticon (in which bureaucrats and your neighbors alike could have an opinion about YOUR job!), the common refrain that 'it's a calling' likely resonated with you, even if you rolled your eyes to the sentimental cheesiness so many would imbue such a statement with.
As I've expressed beliefs about the craft of teaching previously, the focus of this post is the concept of "craft" itself. In an era of instant gratification, the thought of putting time into such mundane tasks as weaving a basket or even chopping vegetables becomes ludicrous in the face of time savers like purchasing "pre-made," "pre-packaged," "pre-cut," etc. Yet, in light of all of our innovative ways to save a few minutes her and there, major consequences arise: the impact of the "use and toss" culture on our environment, the fact that no one seems to have achieved any long-term contentment, and the effect not engaging has on our minds.
Did our ancestors have more fulfilling material and spiritual lives? In some respects, yes....(?!). There was more likely to be a purpose to life, especially when it came to work. Crafting was life for a weaver, a shepherd, a potter. Of course, infant mortality rates were through the roof and a drink of water might lead to death. It's dangerous to romanticize the old and remove these practices from the societies in which they existed. That doesn't mean we can't find something to take away from them either.
In a post-industrialized world, where most hold service jobs, and even those who still work in manufacturing now have an idea their jobs come with an expiration date after which their positions will be automated, humans have to be cognizant of the limitations of the all-tech, all-the-time milieu. Our biological evolution has not caught up with our social. Human bodies have remained relatively unchanged as far as composition since 300,000 years ago. We tend to forget such realities when our species has woven a wonderfully progress-oriented narrative for ourselves in the form of a collective consciousness. And with a focus on the future (and a "now is better than then" attitude) we've lost sight of what it means to experience our humanness in many ways.
Must we, as individuals, craft to survive as a species? We're made to believe so many aspects of our society are "bedrocks" of civilization as we know it when likely they're not. Beliefs that take away our desires to "do," as in experience, the world around us. Instead we sit in inertia, rather than endure hard feelings. The fear of change and anxiety associated with non-conformity to a "normal" way of life keep us in jobs, homes, relationships, behavior patterns that rob us of our (admittedly, very little) agency to effect change in our own lives.
The only answer that satiates any desire for a solution (though it is paltry in comparison to the size of the problems facing our species) is to live , in the face of oppressive bourgeois norms, blasphemously. Whatever that word conjures up in your mind - try it out. The repression of our selves in learned from myriad sources and from an early age. Parental examples, religion, schooling, media and popular culture all send messages to continue the narrative, to preserve it for future generations. And sure, the levels of oppressive social messaging today are less restrictive and more open to new possibilities, but always it's a new amendment added to a list of many others versus. Rather, those new iterations can be intertwined into a wider web of human possibilities, furthering chances of a new configuration.
Thus, our nature calls us to craft - and not solely in the sense of gluing popsicle sticks together to make a frame. "Craft" in the older sense of the word - to know how to "be" whatever it is you're doing. Enrich your experience and life with full engagement in an activity.
*the review of the book, "Craeft" in the NYT Book Review
19 January 2018
01 January 2018
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
Over the past two months, I've been plagued by a sense of writer's block. Not that I amount to any great or prolific "auteur" but energy flows through me when I write in a way it doesn't necessarily do so in public speaking or even one-on-one conversations. So with an inability to find that as an outlet, two months of observations on the world around me became bilious and much in need of expression - sex scandals, harassment accusations, "45", the Republican "anti-American Dream" tax bill, social media overload, work-related stressors, day-to-day worries - woof. Much as I tried to avoid it, I was stuck in the 24 hour news cycle hell that dominates our modern media paradigm.
This was destined to continue - a kingdom of bullshit around us, evident, yet impossible to break away from. At least that is what I had resigned myself to...until this week, anyhow.
Today I spent a portion of the afternoon reading the NYT magazine section from Dec 31, 2017 - dedicated to the obituaries of various influential people who passed on this year. Coupled with the last few days' "best of 2017" lists, I began to reflect more deeply on the year and why so many people wait until the changing of the calendar page to make any actual changes in their lives. As someone who doesn't often make resolutions at year's end, what ultimately resonated with me was the fascination of what we, as individuals, do give significance to in our lives. Whether live performances of the music we love or really great conversations with friends, so much of what enriches our experiences as living beings are our interactions....with other living beings.
Painful as that admission may be for a person who wears "Hell is other people" socks on a regular basis, the evidence proves otherwise. And within this admission of the necessity for other people, the end-of-year recaps and hopeful resolutions also speak to the fullness of our lives. We don't acknowledge this often enough in the day to day, but as beings with an unknown expiration date, the constant flow of negativity and misery we subject ourselves to through media consumption and constant distraction from what's right in front of us is ludicrous given our short time here.
Losing sight of the forest for the endless trees can provoke existential distress in anyone. But of course, when we zoom out, even the healthiest forests harbor rot and decay as much as they are burgeoning with new life. On top of that, there are many paths through each of our lives, yet when we find a walkable one, we tend not to veer too far off of it. I've faced this personally and professionally many times and up to this point, most of the choices I have made have been to stay on a particular path.
But to what end? Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled" comes to mind as I can sit and regret things I didn't choose to engage in. Though, the idea that two roads could never intersect or hold twists unseen puts a lot of faith in the idea that our choices have totally foreseeable outcomes and everything will go the way we intend. Unfortunately, our lives do not unfold in that way, and as someone who is now in her mid-30s, any such philosophy that sets the individual up as a creator of her own destiny has no appeal. Much of what we experience is by chance, including what sort of environment we're born into or skin we're in. Thus, the emphasis on the individual working hard for something or willing it to become reality sets so many people up for not necessarily failure in execution, but with a belief that existentially, they are failures themselves.
Ultimately, we know how to get by. We know what sort of resolutions we'll make year after year, but what would really make our lives better? How could we open ourselves up to more experiences? See the forest for what it is - in all its cycles of growth, death and rebirth? If you have suggestions, let me know.
This was destined to continue - a kingdom of bullshit around us, evident, yet impossible to break away from. At least that is what I had resigned myself to...until this week, anyhow.
Today I spent a portion of the afternoon reading the NYT magazine section from Dec 31, 2017 - dedicated to the obituaries of various influential people who passed on this year. Coupled with the last few days' "best of 2017" lists, I began to reflect more deeply on the year and why so many people wait until the changing of the calendar page to make any actual changes in their lives. As someone who doesn't often make resolutions at year's end, what ultimately resonated with me was the fascination of what we, as individuals, do give significance to in our lives. Whether live performances of the music we love or really great conversations with friends, so much of what enriches our experiences as living beings are our interactions....with other living beings.
Painful as that admission may be for a person who wears "Hell is other people" socks on a regular basis, the evidence proves otherwise. And within this admission of the necessity for other people, the end-of-year recaps and hopeful resolutions also speak to the fullness of our lives. We don't acknowledge this often enough in the day to day, but as beings with an unknown expiration date, the constant flow of negativity and misery we subject ourselves to through media consumption and constant distraction from what's right in front of us is ludicrous given our short time here.
Losing sight of the forest for the endless trees can provoke existential distress in anyone. But of course, when we zoom out, even the healthiest forests harbor rot and decay as much as they are burgeoning with new life. On top of that, there are many paths through each of our lives, yet when we find a walkable one, we tend not to veer too far off of it. I've faced this personally and professionally many times and up to this point, most of the choices I have made have been to stay on a particular path.
But to what end? Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled" comes to mind as I can sit and regret things I didn't choose to engage in. Though, the idea that two roads could never intersect or hold twists unseen puts a lot of faith in the idea that our choices have totally foreseeable outcomes and everything will go the way we intend. Unfortunately, our lives do not unfold in that way, and as someone who is now in her mid-30s, any such philosophy that sets the individual up as a creator of her own destiny has no appeal. Much of what we experience is by chance, including what sort of environment we're born into or skin we're in. Thus, the emphasis on the individual working hard for something or willing it to become reality sets so many people up for not necessarily failure in execution, but with a belief that existentially, they are failures themselves.
Ultimately, we know how to get by. We know what sort of resolutions we'll make year after year, but what would really make our lives better? How could we open ourselves up to more experiences? See the forest for what it is - in all its cycles of growth, death and rebirth? If you have suggestions, let me know.
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