A favorite lyric in one of Leonard Cohen’s songs,
‘Anthem’, goes like this...
‘Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
there is a crack, a crack in everything
that’s how the light gets in.’
I can hear that gravel-cool voice as I try out my new grinder for the first time and look down and see what I have done. Nose-block #2 needed a little shaping so that the keelston, which is a cap that fits over the entire keel and will attach to the bottom halves of the hull, fits properly. That moment, just then, feels a little like the time I decided to give myself a haircut. The difference is that this will not grow back.
And so, I embrace imperfection and come to terms with the reality of life as I know it...that ‘perfect’ is a state of being just out of my reach and not anywhere near all that it’s cracked up to be.
I can fix this and it will be okay and I prefer it this way. And I am pretty sure the boat will work and float and that there will be a warmth experienced by all aboard who will, even on an overcast day, see the light that finds its way in.
