Christmas Dinner 2008.
Charlie Cook showing me how to graft an apple tree, 2009.
Carmel Mikol performing at South Haven, 2011.
When you see someone do something that they are good at doing, it can seem like magic. It seems effortless.
Preparing a big meal and making everything taste good and be warm at the same time.
Cutting the graft just so, and putting it on the right spot on the stock tree.
Writing a song, organizing a concert, then playing your work in front of people.
These are just a few examples. Every skill a human can do, whether it’s putting an engine together, or sewing a quilt, or designing a poster, or whatever, looks like magic, looks like it took no effort at all, when done by someone who does it well.
There is so much “behind the scenes” that we don’t see – the practices, the failures, the mess-ups, the learning. All the hard, annoying, irritating, gotta-stick-with-it-anyway learning.
Valuing another person’s knowledge and expertise – I think maybe as a collective culture, we’ve forgotten how to do this. We want things cheaper, quicker, faster. “Oh I can just go down to the Walmart and pick up one of those.”
Value the work put into something and you connect with another human being. Truly connect, as in feel something genuine.
Well said Leah. I’m sure many agree with your thoughts, as I do. Nothing beats watching someone do what they love and what that love has enabled them to craft and hone. The capacity to learn is one of the greatest gifts we are given.
I’m not a believer in Magic. I think we achieve success through hard work and learning from our mistakes. Many have been fooled by the Dollar Store and Wal-Mart type of businesses. They are able to offer cheap pricing because they are not paying much in labour for their goods. The old saying “you get what you pay for” is so true. I support local as much as I can and am proud to do so. When you buy something that is made local your money goes back into the economy here which in turn supports more jobs. Sorry if I’ve rambled a bit Leah.