Cabin Life #3: Chopping Wood, Take 2

I had started a series of "Cabin Life" blogs way back when I first moved to Yukon, but never quite got into writing them for one reason or another. So here is a second shot at it. I will document what life is like living in a log cabin in the Yukon wilderness, without running water, heated only by a wood stove, surrounded only by the sounds of animals, the wind and my own breathing...

I hope to document the trials and tribulations, the ups and the downs.  What I have learned and what the cabin has taught me. If there is something that my readers wish to learn about, or have questions about, let me know and I will try to incorporate that into a post! It's always nice to have new ideas that perhaps is something that I take for granted.

without further ado;

Chopping Wood- Take 2 

Chopping wood has become somewhat second nature to me as I live out my days in the woods. Though not second nature enough that I no longer have to think about it, but something that I now know will either be a weeks worth of work a couple of times throughout the winter or a daily task that brings me comfort, a way to de-stress and get back to my little world away from the world.

I am currently not gathering my own wood, as I am without chainsaw, or truck. But I do hold hope that next season I will be equipped to do so. Wood in the Yukon averages $225-$250 per cord. Last winter I worked my way through about 4.5 cords. This winter has been a bit more mild, but during cold snaps (week long stints of about -35 to -48) it seems that the stove eats the wood, quickly enveloping each log with its heat and turning it into ash.

When I first began chopping wood there was a certain amount of hesitation when swinging the axe. Unsure of my swing and my ability to keep all of my limbs while wielding such a sharp apparatus, I was cautious. I mean if it can slip through a tough piece of wood like butter, what's to say it won't do the same with my leg.  I used to stare wide eyed at the people who would simply pick up the axe and swing without much thought to their distance, speed, or follow through. They always seemed to hit their mark, or obliterate a huge piece of wood, with (what I thought) was great force in just a few swings, and turn it into the perfect size for stacking.

But what I have learned is that it's not about the force with which you strike the log. It's about finding the right spot, the spot that the log is almost begging to be split at, and hitting it with a swift movement.  No hesitation. Follow-through. Looking not only to split the log you are chopping but the one below it. Looking beyond the simple task and seeing your movement continuing with a forward motion towards the end.

When you find that 'sweet-spot' the wood splits like butter and before you know it you have accomplished in a short time what may have in the past taken you hours, or even days. Your arms become stronger, and the motion that once felt clunky, awkward and foreign becomes easy and routine.

Learning this lesson was a difficult one, but is something that has helped me to find the sweet-spot and follow-through to the holding log.

 It involves staying present, getting the mind under control, practicing love and compassion.

Clear your mind….Chop wood, Carry Water.

Much like in life... it takes time to learn how to follow-through, and trust that the holding log will be there. It's about finding that holding log, a steady base that will help you find the place where you can clear your mind, and let yourself go, without hesitation. That's when the things you  never thought you could do, happen and they happen much easier than you ever imagined they could.

If you try to force a log to break, it never will.

Tweet, Tweet, BAM!!

On a recent visit to a friends house here in Korea I met a foreigner who caused me to think a lot about Twitter, and what the implications are of people who 'tweet' are. I have never understood this phenomenon and really couldn't get why people would do it. A few of my friends seem to occasionally indulge but no one could tell me why. I even started my own account to try and figure it out; but found myself with more important things to do then share what I was doing at that moment with the world. So this particular weekend, as we sat drinking our delicious 9,000 won wine from the grocery store, and chatting about life here and there, politics, religion, happiness, travel, meditation, health and everything else you could think of I became a bit more enlightened. Every once in a while the conversation was interrupted by a comment that just didn't flow with the type of nonchalant open air conversation we were having. When we would get to talking about something, sharing our experiences, the newcomer would butt in with "YEAH, well, my last post on twitter...." and finish with something that was somehow related to our topic but not really. He would then continue to regail us with all of his different extraneous 'tweets' that he posted in response to comments made by other people. Each time he would finish he would smile a self-important smile to himself as though he had just made the most profound statment known to man. It was then I realised what twitter is...

Twitter is for people who think that their every thought is so important, that people actually really care.

I mean... do I really care where you are every single moment of every single day? do i need to see a picture of your brother eating a ham sandwich in front of you, or the dairy you are about to purchase? or every 5 mi nutes after you finish another drink/dance/drive etc...  Is it really necessary to share every innane thought that goes through your tiny head? You are a group of people who spend more time twittering about your life than actually living it...

Now I know im saying these things in a blog, which is a public domain in and of itself. But, I don't find myself saying to people "oh man, you should have SEEN what I wrote on my blog the other day... it was like, so sweet" like, no. I write for myself, not for others, if no one reads it. I dont really care. I blog so that I can vent frustrations and share thoughts and ideas with whoever cares to read. Im not putting out random tidbits of information,and sharing them with people in conversations as though they are profound and important thoughts. If someone reads what I have wrote and wants to have a conversation regarding the topic im all for it.

But twitter. my goodness, what a waste of time. So people, if you feel like twittering, go for it- just leave your self important speech out of daily talk for fear of looking like a total moronic, asinine, self righteous  imbecile to those of us who don't really care about your tweet.
tweet, BAM!