In the turning of the bowl
is the turning of the world,
and in every moment
somewhere
the day is turning to darkness.
Bless those who welcome it,
who long for it;
bless those who fear it
and bid it quickly pass.
And those who touch
with delight in the night,
bless;
and those who cry out
as the shadows give way
to terror,
bless too.
Make us bold
in the darkness
to protect each other’s slumber,
and make us courageous
in the night
to guard each other’s dreams.
~Jan L. Richardson

On Friday I had the privilege of watching a wood turner create bowls out of random pieces of wood. I had seen his work before at our church. He often offers up his creations as fundraisers for different ministries but I had never really heard him speak of how he creates these works of art nor had I watched him at his craft. Before I watched him turn the wood on his lathe, I looked with awe at a display of various sizes and shapes of bowls and other work of his hands. Each bowl was unique and marked with the internal DNA of the wood from which it was born. He explained the ways of working with different kinds of wood, the way the grain felt in his hands, how he knew when the inside of a vase was finished by the weight and feel. It was fascinating.

The part of this process that was most fascinating to me was the way in which his real work was to be present to what the wood already was. As he placed the piece of wood….oak, birch, maple, cherry…..on the lathe, he had no idea what patterns would evolve from his act of turning. He pointed out the surprises of the grains, the swirls, the varying shades of light and dark, the lines that seemed painted in intricate forms by an artist’s brush. One piece he lifted up clearly had the face of an owl! With each piece of wood taken from a once living tree, another life form was coaxed into existence by his patient, slow, metered touch.

As I and others watched him work on a piece of wood, slowly turning it and moving it with skill and fluidity, I was struck with the notion that this turning was a metaphor for all life. What often meets our eye is only a fraction of the possibility and beauty that lies just below the surface. Many times the turnings that happen to us feel frightening and abrasive at the onset. But often that very same turning chips away the old patterns, the dead, no longer needed crust that can give way to something surprising, some amazement within we had not known existed . It is an important thing to remember as we encounter others, especially those who rub us the wrong way. It is an important thing to remember when looking outward at our world which often troubles. It is an important thing to remember as we hold gently our own spirits, our own lives.

In the turning of the bowl…..is the turning of the world……