cutting dead wood

Yesterday I did some heavy pruning with a chainsaw in the orchard. Then I’m in the flow. Nobody wants to be with me – and thoughts are very unwelcome. Concentration is important. The device in my hands can be lethal.

I can only do this pruning once or twice a year – or else there would be no more material left for ever.

I love my trees. I planted half of them. My grandparents planted the others.

Pruning and cutting comes close to the process of making art. Not the creative part that is, but the actual crafting: bringing the idea(s) to life.

When I am in the process, there is no I, there is only here and now and the focus on the undesirable branches and on the machine in my hands.

The physical aspect of it comes close to what people do in the gym, or when you take part in an endurance activity. The endorphins in my body brought about a pleasant trance a couple of hours after the work. My chainsaw itself weighs about 6kg. And the wood i have to cut is also heavy. The soothing effect of the endorphins is uplifting despite the lower back pain itself.

Today the back pain is gone, and the endorphins have left … mind has taken over and the here-and-now is gone.