Some of us may be very busy working extra hard during these hard times while others are having a little more difficulty losing their work. I feel I’m in the middle. With some extra time that I have on my hands I have taken on many projects. The latest has been my coil cooking pot with clay I gathered from Honey Run Creek in Paradise California. It’s from behind the house I grew up in. So far the pot has taken shape and it seems to be great grey clay. The process is fun. I crush the clay into a powder and then I usually add sand to it, but testing this out I didn’t add anything to it (accept for water). I then mix it and knead it until it feels like the right texture and softness. I start with a base and then start adding coils. As I add each coil and smooth it out the pot starts to take shape. After each layer I analyze it and hit it into shape quite literally. As the bottom part dries I start smoothing it with a knife or smooth piece of wood. Once finished and the pot holds it’s shape, I start smoothing it out all over. When I’m satisfied I set it aside to dry for a few days. The next step would be to fire it in a fire. I like to use a combo of wood and cow dung. It then is hardened in the fire and can then be used to cook with.
In life we are like clay. The situations around us are happening and we choose how to react to those situations. We are getting molded and shaped and smoothed out. I feel as we make righteous choices we are able to progress in ways that help us grow into better people. Each coil is another layer that makes us closer to being whole or the best we can become. Serving others, helping when able, loving your neighbor, working hard in society, and just being kind are all things that will help us on our journey to becoming better. So what are we working on today? Are we improving ourselves? Are we growing in ways that lead us into something whole? Are we building and smoothing and becoming a completed clay vessel that is good and beautiful from within?
I hope to do more projects with more time on my hands. I feel it’s good to keep moving forward and building us and others up in good ways. Let us not stand still and waste our time away, but continue on a course of progression throughout our lives that will make us whole and as complete as we can be.
