The Sound of One Hand Chopping
Mark K March 2nd, 2008
I had just sent out a newsletter which included my story “The Sound of One Foot Kicking”, when a friend of this blog, Stephen Altschuler, sent me an e-mail informing me that a story of his had just been published in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled “The Sound of One Hand Chopping”. I’m always intrigued by these examples of synchronicity that keep popping up and was eager to read his story.
I first learned about Stephen when I read his book A Mindful Hiker, in which he tells the story about how he used to hike the same trail every day at California’s Pt. Reyes National Seashore. For him, the trail was a form of walking meditation and it was something that helped him to deal with challenges in his personal life and became a constant source of peacefulness and solace.
In “The Sound of One Hand Chopping”, Stephen goes back to an earlier time in his life when he lived alone in a cabin in New Hampshire for several years. Chopping wood was a necessity for keeping warm and he explains very clearly the equipment and method needed to do an effective job. As in A Mindful Hiker, this simple repetitive act is something more than that with results which affect your psyche as well as your PG&E bill. As he states it, “Your body will be stronger, your mind will be quieter, and your spirit will be lighter.”
When I visit my brother in Redding, I often help them split some firewood. One time, I asked his eight year-old to bring me the axe and he explained to me in a trying-to-be-patient voice, “It’s a splitting maul!” Then my brother pointed out to me that my hands were actually placed like a left-hander even though I’m right handed and would never hold a baseball bat like that.
If I had been able to read Stephen’s article ahead of time, I would have known these things!
