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| Taking a break on a hot summer's day. © Lloyd Lemons |
“Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice.” — Henry Ford
Twenty-first-century people; we’re a lazy bunch, and getting lazier.
So many perfectly healthy people look for the no-labor way to get things done. Tell Alexa to lock your doors at night. Let AI edit your photos. Get a car that drives itself. Hire someone to rake those leaves. Don’t pedal, buy a bicycle that runs on a battery.
I enjoy hard work. Specifically, I enjoy physical hard work, the kind that breaks a sweat or leaves you with sore hands. It gives me a sense of satisfaction when I’m finished. Dirty hands and a tired back make it real. And it’s enjoyable to look back on what I’ve accomplished and see the value in it.
For example, at 73, I just proved something to myself. I reported to friends and family, “I’m thinking of painting my house to save money.” And of course, there were doubters. I heard a few snickers and saw the eye rolls. There were also words of caution from certain voices, ”that’s a big job, you should hire someone”. But I didn’t listen.
Well, to the doubters: I just completed painting the exterior of my entire house, and I’m exhausted. But, damn, it feels good!
It was indeed a lot of work. It involved a shit-ton of preparation, including planning the various steps and color options, buying the materials, pressure cleaning, and surface preparation before the real work of painting even started. Then came the brushwork involved in cutting in, then rolling the larger surfaces. After all the painting was done, the installation of new shutters and railings, washing the windows, and the replacement of fixtures.
My reward?
- I saved at least $6000. (But that’s not the only reward.)
- I can stand back and admire the result: a house that looks completely refreshed from what it was a month ago.
- My body feels fatigued from the strenuous workout I gave it, which is more satisfying than the fatigue derived from mindless boredom.
- I can quietly enjoy the satisfaction that I’ve accomplished a great feat, one that can be witnessed and appreciated by others.
That’s a different brand of satisfaction than, say, writing a story, which is words on a page that no one may ever read. When I write a story intended to help people, and people read it and have a reaction to it, that too rewards me with an abiding sense of satisfaction. But when I spend time writing a story that no one reads, there’s an hollowness attached to my hours of effort.
Chop wood, carry water
When I got out of high school, I was lost. So, I started a business. It was a janitorial service. I cleaned a variety of small businesses for a fee each month. It was the type of mundane work that a lot of people dismiss as boring, degrading, or below their pay level. But at the end of my work day, I could stand back, pause for a moment, see the work that I had done, the polished floors, the clean windows, the uncluttered spaces, the freshened air, and it gave me a sense of accomplishment, especially because I knew the people who used these spaces everyday would enjoy at least a small sense of renewal when they arrived at work.
For me, it was like the Zen proverb, chop wood, carry water. It’s about finding purpose in the process as well as the outcome.
People today seem to shun physical work. They look for the automated way, or the digital method, to speed things up and avoid getting their hands dirty.
In my own experience, I’ve had white-collar jobs, and I’ve had blue-collar jobs. I have many fond memories of time with coworkers in blue-collar jobs. The other jobs with endless paperwork and office politics attached are mostly forgotten.
When you can stand back and take a look at your accomplishments, knowing that others will see and appreciate your effort too, that’s a benefit that exceeds the monetary value. You’ve contributed to something that may bring a smile to their faces.
And there’s a bonus to my painting activity. It gave relief from the constant affront that is our political situation. By finding a way to divert my focus from the nonsense, lies, and outrage perpetrated by the Trump administration and place it on something beneficial, I enjoyed relief from the daily grind of political theater.
Chop wood, carry water, live simpler.
