One of my recurring questions has been, “What do I pursue?” Maybe you can relate. It’s an existential question that requires a dream and a plan as well as determination and guts (although most of us would like the former without the latter). During quarantine, my attempt has been to discover some dreams in order to help me get excited about my life. Maybe if I’ve got this burning passion and dream inside me, it will give me the ability to pursue something with unflagging motivation and tenacity. I haven’t found it yet. I have a sneaking suspicion I’m looking for Big Foot or the Loch Ness monster. And yet... yep, still looking.
I haven’t totally failed, though. The other day I knew I had to make something — something raw, creative, and useful. Something with wood. My best friend Tori suggested I make a “create box,” a tool box of sorts to store my creating projects. That led me on a two week journey that revealed a few things: 1) I loved making the boxes (one turned into three), 2) I could see myself continuing to make things as a hobby/side job, 3) I have a knack for woodworking, and 4) I now have a good friend who can teach me all I need to know and has all the tools and materials to do so.
Around this time, I also started exploring other creative outlets: creative projects using cardboard and candle-making. I’m still waiting on all my supplies to arrive for the candle-making, so not much to share there except that I decided to pursue it simply as a way to finish the wax in candles whose wicks were spent. As for cardboard creations? Cardboard is an incredibly versatile medium: when I went searching for inspiration, I discovered intricate art, play sets, actual furniture, and a variety of other pieces. That said, it’s a bit more labor intensive for my taste (especially if you want things to look perfect... and I do).
It seems that we build our lives the way we build houses: one brick, one nail, one beam at a time. At the end we look on our work and marvel at how it all came together into one thing: a life, a house. That piece we didn’t know where it would go found its place and that piece we thought was so important never did find a home. We are surprised at all the people who were involved in the process. And we discover that while we had one overarching aim - build a house or live well - we accomplished it via smaller goals - lay the foundation, determine the paint themes, find a job to cover expenses, make it through school, decide on how many bedrooms and bathrooms, etc. Just because we have particular goals does not mean we won’t have to make adjustments as we go. A goal to finish school may have to be altered in order to live well, and a goal of four bedrooms may have to be downsized to accommodate the budget or the new goal of adding a greenhouse.
Just as a house has many pieces and part, rooms and walls and doors, so too our lives are made up of many different pieces and parts, people and jobs and interests. I’ve heard it said that interesting persons are those who have various hobbies and interests outside their chosen line of work. People enjoy the quirks and secret skills of one another. People always tend to be impressed by someone who has “done it all”. Your all will be different than my all different then his all or her all. My house will likely have a garden out back and an observatory in the tower on the south end. Yours may have a secret room where you store your collection of artifacts from the age of the knights and feudal lords. My life can’t be made up of just one major thing (outside of an ever-growing love for God). Neither can yours. A house cannot be called a house if it is made only a living room. Diversity is interesting and exciting, as is the continual adding of new things. So you know what? Try things out. Risk a little. Take the time to test a theory or re-engage that old hobby you used to have back in grade school. After all, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
Searching for that one all-consuming passion may in fact be like a pursuit of some fantastical creature, so while I keep an eye out for it, I will also continue to pursue the smaller goals and focus on living my life well, using the best materials coupled with creativity and ingenuity to build my house. Good thing I now know a little woodworking....
