Patience Is A Virtue

The older I get, the more patient I am. Patience has never been one of my natural virtues. For me, it is an acquired virtue, one that has developed over time. Impatience is my natural state. Woodturning can provide near instant gratification. If you are turning dry wood, a project starts and finishes in one day. It’s like mowing the lawn, when you are done you can admire the work you’ve done. Woodturning can also require patience if you start with green wood. It takes 6-18 months for a green bowl to dry naturally. By the time you finally get to finish turn the green bowl you’ve forgotten what it looked like.

Many of the projects we’ve completed over the last few years have been plagued with delays and setbacks. The start of my newest building was delayed a year waiting on my contractor. When we finally did get started, weather caused lots of delays. My newly acquired patience was my savior. Instead of feeding my frustration, I found enjoyable ways to spend the extra wait. What a novel idea, enjoy your day in spite of the adversities.

I now truly believe that patience is a worthwhile virtue. I’m doing my very best to be patient every day and the result is a much happier life. That said, I’ve turned quite a few bowls recently from dry wood that I have accumulated over the years. I must admit, I like doing a project start to finish in one day, even with my newly acquired patience.

Below is a platter I turned in one day this weekend. The piece was a cut-off from a board that we used to build our house in 1994. I’d say it was dry.