I believe humans are beings of nature but there are a few quirks which set us apart. Our opposable thumbs, our sizeable brains and our relentless pursuit of goals.
Never quite satisfied with what is, we are constantly in pursuit of something else. Another car, a different house, a better job, a greater achievement. I think it's a noble endeavour at its core, this quirk of humanity, but I would argue that for most this state of pursuit causes anxiety. It sets a contrast between having and not having that rubs us the wrong way.
As a photographer, horse trainer & a writer I have experienced this longing for a different state not currently within grasp.
To have taken the photo rather than being in the process of taking the photo. To have a trained horse, rather than being in the muck of training. To have written the book rather than in the never ending writing stage.
Is it possible to set a goal AND enjoy the process in pursuing it, no matter how long it takes?
Is it possible to not have the thing you want most and still be content while you work towards it?
Yes it is.
Craft
transitive verb.
: to make or produce with care, skill, or ingenuity
To construct. To shape. To prepare. To compose.
Crafting is a way of being. To craft an aim sets the style and approach of your actions.
To illustrate this let me tell you a story about what it looks like to craft an aim through the perspective of a master craftsman, my Father.
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A woodworker sits at his bench and picks up a small slab of wood.
Turning it over in his hands, his mind wanders. It wasn’t that it was a particularly special piece of wood, he just had someone in mind that he wanted to make something for. What could he make? The old man looked down at the slab and blew off some dust.
“Perhaps I’ll make something useful,” he thought. “Not just a thing that sits and gathers dust, but something that stays in touch with her.”
He sat with the wood held loosely in his hands and closed his eyes. Again, his mind wandered. The radio played faintly in the background. Around him, the old shed had decades worth of projects and materials. The amount of dust was likely at a toxic level. Old bike tyres, one car door, enough wood to build a small shack, and hundreds of tools. The man hadn’t bought a new tool for years, he had all he needed & his craft was down to a fine art.
Once he had a vision for the piece of wood, he knew that he could reach across the bench and the tool he needed would be there. A chisel, the sander, a router. He knew these tools intimately, applying the exact amount of pressure on the wood to create the perfect curve or indent. His hands had their own intellect. His fingers could diagnose a flawed knobbly bit with ease. His eye knew how to gauge finality effortlessly.
The old man lifted his head and took a breath. “Something useful, something practical.” He glanced out towards the garden and a memory crossed his mind. He had tended to that garden with his beloved wife for so many years. She had taken care of the family's needs fiercely. Raising the children, worrying about them, cooking all of their meals. “Perhaps that’s it,” he thought. “Something to use in the kitchen, a wooden spoon maybe. Yes, that’ll do.”
My Father building his catamaran 'Catalyst'
'Catalyst' in Kyoto Harbour, Japan.
There was no big moment.
The idea just fell into his mind just like the answer to a crossword puzzle. It fitted in. A satisfying sort of knowing that anyone watching couldn’t have guessed at. He would make her a utensil that she could use to care for her own family. A tool made from his own hands to give his daughter to hold in hers.
The vision of it formed in his mind. He looked down at the unmade slab of wood in his hands and could see immediately what edges had to go. Firing up the sander, and reaching for his pencil, he sketched out a rough idea and the intellect of his hands took over. Just like the thousands of other creations that had come from unmade pieces of wood, he began the process once again of crafting a worthy aim.
My Father has made many unique beautiful items including this one of a kind beautiful western saddle stand
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Crafting your vision
Crafting isn’t about finishing the project as quickly as possible just so you can get to the end result.
It is savouring the experience of the actions. Crafting describes the attitude with which the pursuit of an aim is approached. It is feeling your way through each stroke of the chisel and considering the results with contentment. It’s unhurried, steady & deliberate. It rests fully in the moment.
This way of being makes the tools more efficient and accurate. A chisel in the hand of a master craftsman is much more effective than the same tool in the hands of a beginner. You develop a feel for these tools over time until they become an extension of your own hand, or mind.
The vast expanse of life that lays before you is waiting to be crafted in your hands.
Your own two hands that grip & fumble.
Able to both delicately trace an outline and grasp tightly onto a thread, they correlate exactly to the dual hemispheres of your mind. Holding onto a thought and pointing towards the details; opening up to an idea and closing upon a decision.
Your life is the unmade slab of wood. Your aim is the vision of what it could be. Your mind is the hand that lays itself open to that vision and reaches for a tool to shape it.
What is the vision you see?
Like the woodworker, your aim can be found in contemplation.
Where does your mind go when it wanders? Floating untethered from earth, your vision is waiting for an open mind to fall into. It is a subtle yet unmistakable feeling when it connects to a Knowing within you. Follow the thread of it and an outline might be drawn.
What could your life look like?
How does this vision feel in your hands?
Where is it you see yourself in this new landscape?
Who reaps the benefits from your crafted aim?
The tools within your reach
What are the actions, pursuits, steps that will take you further? What are the tools your hand & mind can grasp onto?
Each tool that the woodworker reaches for has a specific purpose. He requires the right tool to do the exact manoeuvre for the envisioned result. Some tools are sharper than others, some tools may only need to chip off a small amount. What tools does your aim require?
Drawing a vision outline
Listing your core values
Writing your definition of success
Making connections around your network
Breathwork & visualisation exercises to integrate your vision
Reaching your Aim - Handing it to another
Whatever it is you are working on - if it is a worthy aim, it is meant to be given to another.
Parts of the journey might feel selfish or centred around your own preferences & pursuits but the knowledge, skills & wisdom you gain along the way can be passed to another. It’s built into the system to lend a hand back to help someone else up the ladder. Every hurdle that you find your way over, each new tool that you find, or perspective that you gain can help to light the way for others.
My horse Molly taking shelter in my Fathers shed while he is working away on a project
Pursuing your goals is an equation.
Craft - Flow - Create - Feminine
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Aim - Structure - Action - Masculine
In pursuit of your vision, you will dance between these two states. Without even having much of a conscious understanding, your life will naturally mirror these principles on a micro and macro level as you evolve your idea.
If progress isn't occurring or something doesn't feel quite right somewhere along the process, looking into these two realms can identify an imbalance. Everything in your life is an outer reflection of an inner set of foundational beliefs and subconscious thoughts. Having compassion with yourself through your pursuit will immensely help to identify and remove inner and outer blocks (hint, they are intrinsically connected).
Out of the chaos of possibility and creative potential you can grab onto something that excites you and run with it.
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