larryc
Member
I know that Ron Brown is considered persona non gratis by some but I think this article in a recent newsletter from him is right on. Just my 2cents.
Turning's Unintended Consequences
When you decided to take up the hobby of turning wood, you set several powerful forces in motion that you didn't even realize at the time. If you are the typical turner, you are either already retired, or will retire shortly. You have family including grandchildren. For most of you, your spouse shares your joy directly, or indirectly.
You became part of a huge family who love to fellowship around your craft, watch others demonstrate and teach it and meet regularly to share the finer points. You read a publication in which you may have actually met a very high percentage of the skilled artisans featured in its pages. You attend regional and national gatherings with hundreds and sometimes thousands of other like-minded individuals who are also sharing the experience with their families. You watch folks on YouTube and often meet them in person later.
You have finally found common ground to share with the grandchildren, something to which you can both relate. You have bridged the generation gap with a simple piece of wood and it didn't take an electronic device to do it! Family, friends and neighbors can't wait to see your gifts at Christmas time or on birthdays and at weddings. They know it will be special and handmade and just for them. It is usually something money could never buy and your gift won't be going back to the overpriced store.
In the digital, pixilated, non-personal world of today, you have found something requiring tactical interaction. You must work with your hands and get them dirty every time you practice the craft of turning wood. What a huge blessing to be able to touch something God created which was alive for so very long. And now, especially because of you, it can live on perhaps for another few centuries.
Look at the types of people you meet, from young folks to octogenarians, from doctors, judges and lawyers to business professionals and on to school teachers, building maintenance technicians, truck drivers, pilots, butchers, bakers and Indian chiefs. They come from all walks of life, all religions, all political persuasions and from all over the world. I know because I meet them all and love every minute of it.
Because of this woodworking, woodturning, and just plain wood hobby, I have met famous people from all over the world that I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. I have broken bread with military leaders and been invited into the company of great men, some humble, some not. This simple newsletter will travel to the four corners of the world carrying my messages to folks great and small. You never know just who you will touch and how you will touch them. As you travel along this wonderful woodturning-woodworking highway, open your mind to the possibilities before you. When you can, share it with your family, young and old. Share it with strangers regardless of their station or lack of it in this life. It is time to take a breath and open your eyes to the greater possibilities. Because, wherever you go, there you are.
Here is my inspiration for this message:
Prov 18:16 A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Turning's Unintended Consequences
When you decided to take up the hobby of turning wood, you set several powerful forces in motion that you didn't even realize at the time. If you are the typical turner, you are either already retired, or will retire shortly. You have family including grandchildren. For most of you, your spouse shares your joy directly, or indirectly.
You became part of a huge family who love to fellowship around your craft, watch others demonstrate and teach it and meet regularly to share the finer points. You read a publication in which you may have actually met a very high percentage of the skilled artisans featured in its pages. You attend regional and national gatherings with hundreds and sometimes thousands of other like-minded individuals who are also sharing the experience with their families. You watch folks on YouTube and often meet them in person later.
You have finally found common ground to share with the grandchildren, something to which you can both relate. You have bridged the generation gap with a simple piece of wood and it didn't take an electronic device to do it! Family, friends and neighbors can't wait to see your gifts at Christmas time or on birthdays and at weddings. They know it will be special and handmade and just for them. It is usually something money could never buy and your gift won't be going back to the overpriced store.
In the digital, pixilated, non-personal world of today, you have found something requiring tactical interaction. You must work with your hands and get them dirty every time you practice the craft of turning wood. What a huge blessing to be able to touch something God created which was alive for so very long. And now, especially because of you, it can live on perhaps for another few centuries.
Look at the types of people you meet, from young folks to octogenarians, from doctors, judges and lawyers to business professionals and on to school teachers, building maintenance technicians, truck drivers, pilots, butchers, bakers and Indian chiefs. They come from all walks of life, all religions, all political persuasions and from all over the world. I know because I meet them all and love every minute of it.
Because of this woodworking, woodturning, and just plain wood hobby, I have met famous people from all over the world that I would never have crossed paths with otherwise. I have broken bread with military leaders and been invited into the company of great men, some humble, some not. This simple newsletter will travel to the four corners of the world carrying my messages to folks great and small. You never know just who you will touch and how you will touch them. As you travel along this wonderful woodturning-woodworking highway, open your mind to the possibilities before you. When you can, share it with your family, young and old. Share it with strangers regardless of their station or lack of it in this life. It is time to take a breath and open your eyes to the greater possibilities. Because, wherever you go, there you are.
Here is my inspiration for this message:
Prov 18:16 A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
