Straws in the Wind

In heaven’s name, let us be men with real interests, real ability to use our powers of hand and brain, men of character who can make a mark at least on our own circle.

We can do it by constant personal effort. And if our daily work leaves us no outlet we must find our own.

The woodworker can make himself a first-rate craftsman, he can persevere in spite of present difficulties, learning all the time, and enjoy a sense of personal achievement in surmounting them. Because personal achievement is the only answer to the cipher business and the one which a man owes his soul.

With it he will have truly lived, whatever part outside events have played in his life. Without it, he will pass like a straw in the wind.

— The Woodworker, February 1947