The Uncarved Block

It's 4:00am…my usual time for that first draw of caffeine. In warm weather I usually jump out of my predawn bed and hit the day with excitement, eagerness, and a delusional belief I will actually chip away at my incessantly growing “to-do” list. In late December though, it's too damn cold. So today I wait for the low arching sun to warm the loft above the winery where my most current construction project calls for attention.

We all have talents gifted us by God. The challenge in life is figuring out what our talent is. To Ying that Yang though is that we also all have vices. While I'm still not certain about my talent I know I'm cursed with an inability to finish projects. My home and my winery/distillery are littered with unmistakable signs of nearly completed projects. I jokingly tell people the reason I never finish projects is because I want to live forever...and I know that when I finish all my projects I will die.

The true reason I never finish probably has more to do with ADD...I just loose interest. There's an old Taoist allegory about the “uncarved block”. According to the story, an uncarved block is the most beautiful sculpture there can be because it contains an infinite number of possibilities. With very chip taken and every piece removed though, there's that much less the block can be...until the final chip is removed and the block is down to the last possible thing is can be.

Projects are the same as uncarved blocks...in the begining they are new and full of possibility...which is very exciting. As the projects progresses there are fewer and fewer possibilities until near the end all questions have been resolved and all creativity removed...at that point I lose interest. What is the point in investing time and energy into something that has been complete resolved???

What does that say about me...