We are all, at times (and sometimes continuously), craftsmen or women. Any task, tiny or major, can be done in a variety of ways. When it is done with care and evident skill, it becomes a source of satisfaction to everyone. When it is done sloppily or without love, the result demeans us all.

The craftsman, I think, is an instrument through which beauty flows. He or she does not create beauty, but merely delivers it. The degree to which he succeeds depends on how finely tuned his mechanisms are. This is the craftsman's responsibility: to keep himself ready for the times when beauty may appear. Whether the job at hand is baking cookies or building a house, the result will depend on this readiness.

It is my conviction that the good, the true, and the beautiful are all manifestations of the same universal source. I don't believe it matters much whether we call the source God or Great Spirit or Allah or Atman; these are merely human names. What does matter is that we recognize and respect and revere the Source for inspiring (in-spiriting) the love and skill which we impart to the things we make.

It is difficult at times to see this connection between the spiritual and the mundane. In a technological world, the machines we use can block our view of the larger picture. Working with a computer, for instance, may seem to involve little craftsmanship - but only because we are blinded to both the miracle of its existence and the fact that it enables us to do many things better and more cleanly than in days gone by. So it is with hundreds of other machines. Each is a tool - no more, no less - with which, if we choose, we can exercise craftsmanship and thereby participate in the cosmic urge toward order and beauty.

We are not born into a finished, static universe. The world at every level is an ongoing experiment, an unending quest for balance and harmony. From sub-atomic particles on up, everything fidgets and jiggles as it seeks a place of repose. The name of the game is to find a graceful fit: whether in human relations, international affairs, dressmaking, bookkeeping, or cabinet work. Another word for this is craftsmanship.

The poet Kahlil Gibran once wrote that work is love made visible. By this, I think, he meant to illuminate the hidden filaments that link us together with all of creation. The bird builds a nest; the oak puts out leaves and acorns; the star we call Sun radiates life-giving heat and light.

In like fashion, our work can be an outpouring of joy.

When it is, we are truly craftsmen-and truly at peace.

Copyright 2005 by Craig Nagel