Lessons in hammering, and correcting mistakes

Okay, one comment I made in my blog yesterday was offensive. That comment has been removed. I have since been reminded, in a very strange way, about also correcting these kinds of mistakes; mistakes in my behavior. I am trying to correct myself, and yet still have off days, where I write with a biting edge. The one comment I made in my post was off, especially considering the topic my post was about, which is about the wonder of human life, the God-given blessing that we all are even to exist … and then I demean people who may read the post. That was pretty stupid, and inconsiderate. The papers on people’s walls do not define their intelligence. The way people say things also does not define their intelligence, but the choices they make every day define the quality of person they are, and how intelligent they are. I should be recognizing and celebrating everyone’s differences, and realizing that people are smarter than I am, and stronger than I am, but maybe just in other ways.

So, what is the classroom lesson today that sparked this perspective on this blog post? It was an instructor of mine critiquing my hammering technique, and mentioning to me that if your nail goes on an angle, then stop and correct it right away, don’t keep chasing the nail, hammering it at all angles, as though you mean it to do that. Correct mistakes, even if they aren’t yours (you didn’t hammer that nail off course on purpose, but you still did it!) Now you can look like an idiot and chase your actions as if you meant to do that, or you can correct it right away. And then if you keep missing the nail, don’t keep swinging randomly, re-set-up your angle and position if necessary, and start again. Take the time to be aware of your angle, your aim, your position, your strength, technique, the direction you are going in, and correct them right away if something is messed up. If I can learn these lessons well, and continue to put my full attention during class into carpentry, I will have corrected my bad aim, and will still continue to learn and make progress in the course.

I should not, however, take my blog opinions into the course, or my course opinions into my blog. They would not do well to be mixed. I do apologize for making that comment, and thinking that way. A lesson to be practiced tomorrow, as well as my hammering technique, and building from the bottom up and the framing in, is to celebrate the different intelligences of others, respect those people, and not shun them for being different than my own.