chop wood, carry water.

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There is a Zen saying, "Before Enlightenment chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water." What's the difference? The tasks are the same. The need is the same. What about the frame of mind? Who is chopping? Who is carrying water?
Anyway I was surfing the cable t.v. today and came across the local public access channel and there was a video of a local rancher/farmer in the mtns somewhere in the area who had set up a video camera that for 20 or so minutes just showed him splitting firewood and you could hear the attendent sounds of the wood splitting as well as the birds etc in the background. That was it, I watched the entire video quite mesmerized. It was really very serene and calming. Not a single word was spoken.

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I wasn't around, was I?

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I'd have watched too..... too bad the video isn't online.

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Yep...rhythmic motion, good sounds.........

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Dys, you doing Peyote again?

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Reyn wrote:

Dys, you doing Peyote again?

I did peyote once, it was in a classroom (cultural anthropology) , all i got was a tummy ache.

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Are you sure that it wasn't god talking to you?

Apparently, he moves in mysterious ways.

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I cut wood for stress relief.

Strong, pysical, repetative excercise. Reward at the finish. (big pile of wood). gives me a real sense of satisfaction.

Just need to make sure it a straight grained log.

competetive woodchop is popular in some circles here.

http://www.nikonclub.com.au/competitions/millennium/gallery/0003/images/2710-port-r3.jpg

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Where I recently moved from, Humboldt County in northern California, home of redwood forests and much more, people were very into both wood turning and wood carving. Lot of beautiful things made by those wood turners, not so much by the wood carvers of, say, large bears, as a group, though they must have fun at it.

I know, not the same as chopping wood, as far as getting a product out of swinging an axe - but not entirely unrelated.

I've been to this woman's studio... really, kind of a heaven on earth, to me. It was part of an open studios tour that they have in the county once a year.
http://www.woodguild.com/kasek/portfolio/portfolio.htm

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I chop furniture. People dump all sorts of couches, beds, dressers and what all at the dumpsters. The trash man won't take them if I simply toss them in.The only way to get them picked up is to break them up with an ax and hide them under the trash. It's a messy business, taking out all the trash (diapers, cat litter, pork n beans cans and the like), putting in the furniture, and then throwing the trash back in on top of it. Get them all gone and the next day two or three more are tossed out there.

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Edgar--

Aren't there any football bonfires in your corner of Texas?

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Edgar, maybe you can try advertising on craigslist. There is a "free" section, and I frequently see that kind of thing advertised, and often a quick "gone!" follow-up.

Even if it's crappy, there are people who will want it if it's free.

Shouldn't be much trouble at all, might make someone happy, and will save you the hassle.

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The part about removing the garbage and picking it back up was tongue in cheek. I select an empty dumpster beforehand. Actually, the old stuff gets a good going over before the unusable gets stuffed. Dressers with no drawers, nasty mattresses, couches that look like hogs lived atop the cushions- -I have about a dozen big ones to break up right now.

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