Do. Or do not. There is no try. -Yoda
This has been a week of highs and lows. I finished a rug that might be my favorite one yet – a real high. (I will share it in another post.) And then I spent several hours cleaning up my studio. I really should have done a before and after shot of my studio, but the before was such a mess it was truly embarrassing. Having a clean studio is usually another “high” but this time I became totally overwhelmed by how much plastic I have. The inventory of plastic continued to grow even though my production was limited for several weeks. There is just so much.
This fact got me very depressed. I’m ONE person and look at how much plastic I have been able to accumulate in a relatively short time! How, as a planet, can we possibly survive having this much plastic? How, as one person, can I even make a dent? I feel like the character in The Phantom Tollbooth tasked with moving a mountain with a teaspoon. (If you haven’t read The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster or if you haven’t read it recently you need to go out immediately and get it. It is a classic.) Why should I even try? Yoda would say “There is no try.”
I don’t want to equate entertainment with philosophy, but there is a reason that Star Wars has become a part of modern culture. It has many archetypal themes. Yoda is a great character with much good advice. And generally committing oneself rather than waffling IS going to produce better results. But what about times when trying, even when you know you won’t fully succeed, IS the best result?
How To Be Perfec t
My daughter recommended a great book to me: How To Be Perfec t, by Michael Schur. Michael Schur is a writer on “The Office,” and “Parks and Rec” and the creative genius behind “The Good Place.” These happen to be three of my favorite shows. “The Good Place” is currently available on Netflicks and if you haven’t seen it, invest the time to do so. It’s about moral philosophy. You might be wondering how a show on that topic can be entertaining, but trust me – it is. Thanks to the extreme talent of Mr. Schur and the others associated with the show, it is the perfect balance of funny and profound. The book How To Be Perfec t is Mr. Schur’s compilation of what he learned about moral philosophy when researching and writing the show.
Mr. Schur discusses how, in many ways, it is probably impossible to live a completely moral life. Life is just so complicated. Morals are just so complicated. So why should we even try? His conclusion is that a failure to try, even in the face of improbable odds, is the absolute worse thing we can do. It is the most immoral act. Trying may not lead to perfection – in fact we know it won’t – but it is ALL we CAN do. So, contrary to what Yoda professes, there IS a try.
(For another great book suggestion compliments of my daughter, read my post called “Labors of Love.”)
After wallowing in despair over the amount of plastic I have, and recognizing that I’m not ever going to be able to keep up, I resolved that I have to keep trying. It’s really my only option. And I also realized that the only way I can reduce the huge pile of plastic in my house is if I start teaching others how to upcycle this material. I have toyed with this idea before but haven’t done much with it. I decided that I will make it a focus for 2023.
I’m not alone!
I get a newspaper delivered every day. (Remember, that’s how this whole journey started: I felt guilty about the daily plastic bags that entered my home and was trying to come up with a way to repurpose them.) This week in The Seattle Times I read about an organization called Refugee Artisan Initiative (RAI), located in Lake City. Check out this mission statement: “RAI partners with immigrant women to foster an inclusive, prosperous transition to the US through artisan skills training in zero waste and small batch manufacturing.” The organization gives refugee and immigrant women the manufacturing and business skills needed to achieve financial independence – while keeping things out of landfills! The work on their website is lovely and practical. I joined their newsletter list and look forward to learning (and sharing) more about them in future posts. Learning about them was a real “high” in my high/low week!
It inspires me to see what other upcylers (is that a word yet? It should be) are doing. And it humbles me to see how much more others have accomplished. But they all had to start small at some point, right? And even small steps in the right direction help. I’m currently working on a soap dish. It’s a very small step. But it is a commission for a friend and I know it will bring her some joy to receive it. So that brings me some joy, and some hope, too.
