Joan Berkwitz on mon 4 aug 03
As humans, we seek to understand and control our fate. Athletes wear=20
their "lucky" things, (some of which we would rather not be told=20
about) and gamblers have their "lucky" charms. Those who feel most=20
buffeted by the winds of fate and chance are the most likely to=20
place their trust in talismen.=20
Picture if you will the ancient potter, perhaps in Mesopotamia. She=20
places her carefully hand coiled pots into a small pit, and stacks=20
shards of broken pots on top. She hums as she works, crooning a=20
tune which her grandmother sang. Carefully, carefully the pile grows=20
higher, and she knows instinctively how to place the shards so that=20
they allow heat to baffle through the ware and out, carrying the=20
burning organic impurities with it. Finally she starts a fire, in a=20
little antechamber that she has placed off to the side. Bit by bit,=20
piece by piece she feeds the fire, using her senses of smell and=20
touch to determine how hot it must be and how quickly to make it=20
rise. She is still singing, under her breath, but the tone changes=20
and now it has a pleading quality. As much as she has done, in care=20
and preparation, as deep as her knowledge is of the local clay and=20
its abilities, she still must consign her pots to the fates and hope=20
that on the other side of the fire the fates will have been kind.=20
Perhaps the last thing she does, as she lets the fire die slowly in=20
the night, is place a little figurine among the ashes to protect her=20
ware. Maybe the figurine is old, coming down to her through the=20
muddy hands of her mother and her grandmother. Or maybe she made the=20
figure herself, back in the days when she first learned to make=20
pots. Is it crusted from the ash of a hundred fires? Does it have a=20
name? Does it represent a god that many speak to, or is it hers=20
alone?
Whenever we must cede control, and give up the ability to manage our=20
fates, we must each find our own way to tip the balance and reassure=20
ourselves that everything will be all right. By making a figurine,=20
we are reminding ourselves that we must be careful in all that we=20
do. We need to think about each step, from setting the controls to=20
how each piece is loaded. We need to remind ourselves to dry foot,=20
to vaccuum, to make sure that each shelf is stable and firm. Our=20
focus must be deep and true, so that in the end our efforts are=20
rewarded, and not marred by inattention and carelessness.
With all of the technology on our side, with all of our fancy=20
controls and the silent slaves that watch over our electronic fires=20
in the night, we still whisper a quiet plea to our personal deity=20
that it will bring us through the fire and into the cool light of=20
morning, to see for the first time those wares we worked so hard to=20
make.=20
Joanie
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