Tools

TOOLS

Every tradesman has his favorite tools. There are certain tools he uses for specific jobs, and there are tools he uses for routine work. Every time a tool is grasped, it fits into his fingers in a particular way, a well worn, comfortable clasp. It is like treading on a path one has often trod upon before, a comforting reassurance, that I have that tool to use. The master craftsman uses tools to work magic in his trade. Wielding them to do his will, he shapes, cuts, incises, scrapes, and stitches. The tool obeys his leading and guiding, working its often unpleasant way into the material at hand. The end result brings life, healing beauty, function and wholeness.

It is a pleasure for others to watch a skilled craftsman at work. The fingers move skillfully, using the tools to accomplish a masterpiece, or a part of it, portion of a whole project.

Carpentry, model making, motorbike repair, surgery… all these tasks have at its center tools, without which the task is ill accomplished. Each is a skill, developed over time, time spent with tools.

A rusty stiff tool is very difficult to use. A tool that has been used for years is reassuring in its functioning.

A new tool often needs breaking in, needing to  be used till it functions smoothly.

An old tool often needs resharpening, unpleasant for the tool, but a process that allows the tool to retain its cutting edge.

Every tradesman also has a shelf of unused tools.. tools that are too old, or don’t work that well.

The tools he does use regularly are often kept oiled, and ready to use for the next big job at hand.

No tools complains about another tool in the toolbox. Tools are used together to accomplish the task at hand.  One tool may be for cutting, another for polishing, another for grinding, but they all work in concert together, and all the tools are needed to complete the job.

We are tools too, in a Master Craftsman’s hand. We are used, to mould, shape, and influence those around us. What sort of tool are we being, and what are we aspiring to be? 

Any one can be a tool, we just need to obey.