I used to think that I am a woodworker because I make things, usually furniture, out of wood. I have since changed my goal in woodworking: I make sawdust and shavings, and, hopefully, a decent piece of furniture comes from that process. Because I enjoy making things out of wood, my goal is to make sawdust and shavings. If I’ve made a nice pile of sawdust and shavings, then I’ve had a good time in my shop. I work with wood for the creative joy that comes out of planning a project, measuring, shaping, cutting, and joining. Each step in the creative process has a joy of its own that does not rely on a specific outcome—even if it is wonderful to make a finished piece of furniture at the end. I certainly intend my cutting, chopping, and planing to produce a dining room table, but I am trying to enjoy each step of the process along the way. We feel the pressure in so many aspects of life to produce results and measurable outcomes. This accounts for part of the appeal of AI—a newfound efficiency to accomplish more things on tighter timelines with less effort. AI saves us from a lot of the sawdust and shavings, so to speak, in certain professions. For those programming line after line of code, AI can be a friend. For thoughtful writers seeking to explore and understand, it is an affliction of commonplaces and summaries that say nothing. Even in woodworking, we have our machines that speed up the making of sawdust and shavings—or whatever you call the little bits of wood that my benchtop planer spits out. A little boost of efficiency can be a good thing, especially if you’d rather not spend your life hand planning rough cut slabs from the mill. Yet, each step of the creative process has joy to offer if we slow down. I’m currently cutting support braces and wooden “buttons” to fasten the table, and it’s very satisfying to cut each one and then chisel the uneven bits down to the marked line. They’ll soon be fastened underneath the table, rarely seen by anyone. I could certainly whip them out on my tablesaw in no time, but it’s much more fun to make sawdust and shavings by cutting and refining each 1.5” block. I turned to woodworking as an restorative hobby, if not escape, from the chaos of our times. Unfortunately, we can easily make our restorative practices into little prisons of their own by setting up unrealistic expectations for ourselves or reaching for goals that no sane person should set. At best, I am an inexperienced novice compared to the people who made furniture as their livelihood or as a way to furnish entire homes 100-200 years ago. When I compare myself to the skill of past craftsmen, I have no business building a Shaker dining room table that these masters perfected after decades of experience among masters with decades of their own experience. Of course I’d like to build a dining room table that looks close to what these masters built, but for right now, I’m happy to make sawdust and shavings. If I’ve only found 30 minutes of quiet reflection while giving my full attention to my saw blade or plane iron, then my time has been well spent in a retreat from the madness of our times. I will dream, design, cut, chop, and shave the wood I have with the hope of making something more than a bin of sawdust and shavings. But if they’re all I have for now, my time is still well spent. Thanks for dropping by, Ed You're currently a free subscriber to Ed Cyzewski :: Author // Contemplative // Maker. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Tuesday, 24 March 2026
I Make Sawdust and Shavings
Friday, 20 March 2026
Can We Offer Alternatives to Anger and Despair That Meet Our Current Moment
Can We Offer Alternatives to Anger and Despair That Meet Our Current MomentHow can we become more interdependent on each other at a time of rampant self-serving individualism?
To even write about the current crisis in America seems to require saying something that proves or identifies the crisis for those not yet convinced we are in a crisis. That simple act of proving reality to skeptics is when the wheels start falling off for me. We are so saturated in propaganda, infotainment, and reactionary rage bait on social media that we seemingly have to begin any discussion about our current crisis with proof of the crisis. That is maddening, and I presume that at least some people desperately want things to be this way to keep us divided, distracted, disdainful, and despairing. I’m sure there are more words that start with “d” that would help describe the current moment. In the hope of moving toward something better, I’m going to skip spelling out the details of our current crisis and move on to beginning some sort of response. We have a fire hose of bad news each day. It seems our country is run by people who diligently try to figure out the worst thing they could do, devote all of their energy to doing it, and, when called to account, claim to be doing the best thing. If we don’t have the lowest of the low running our country right now, it’s only because they aren’t intelligent enough to find a way to go any lower than they already are. How should we respond to this onslaught of daily crises, violence, inhumanity, and injustice? I have a thought that stems from an observation someone made of the current political class running our country. This class is selfish, self-serving, and grotesquely individualistic. They are gathering as much power and wealth for themselves and their allies while they can, and everything they do aims to serve themselves. Our response is to ask how we can become more interdependent on each other, how we can love our neighbors, and how we can build stronger bonds in our communities. I don’t think that most of us have the capacity for large projects. I’m thinking about things like donating food, volunteering where we can, sharing resources with others, and building understanding when possible. I continue to invest time into artistic projects like oil pastels and woodworking because these are skills I can use to help others, to give people gifts they enjoy, or to pass on creative skills to others. Of course, there’s the daily practice of prayer as well, working hard to let go of the anger and despair that so easily takes hold and creating a clear space for God to speak into my life. Although I remain devastated by the horrible failure of Christians in America to hold such an evil man in power to the basic standards of moral decency, we can find renewal to love our neighbors if we remember how deeply we are loved by God. I’m not offering a perfect path forward to help us make it through this terribly perilous moment in our country, but we have to start somewhere. The place I’m starting is recognizing the temptation to become overwhelmed by the flood of anger and negativity in this moment and then embracing practices that move me toward a healthier, more sustainable place. If we can end today by saying no to despair and yes to love and community, we will have hope to continue when the sun comes up tomorrow. Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash You're currently a free subscriber to Ed Cyzewski :: Author // Contemplative // Maker. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Starting Over Socially (Even If You Didn’t Plan To)
Starting Over Socially (Even If You Didn’t Plan To)When friendships fall apart and everyone else seems to be thriving
This month’s anonymous letter is about how sometimes friendships fall apart or quietly shift, and you’re left without the people you used to lean on. Meanwhile, social media makes it look like everyone else is surrounded by friends. We get at what’s really going on as well as how to find your way back to connection, one manageable step at a time. Dear Nina,I’m in my final year of college, and I’ve had a fallout with my friends. Since then, I’ve had nobody in my corner to vent to. It’s been hard to make new friends as I am not an extrovert. In all honesty, I am lonely. I follow other people's happiness on Snapchat or Instagram, and I feel like I’m the only one with nothing going on. How can I make friends? Thanks, Lonely in College
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I Make Sawdust and Shavings
How I'm finding joy in the creative process. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ...
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Lit Hub Excerpts posted: " I went to work and a guy I wait on said he was leaving. He said everyone he knew was pu...
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Sheri K posted: " #*insert person/company name*isoverparty or #*insert person/company name*iscancelled How often do you ...
