In the year 2000, I studied abroad in Australia after winning a scholarship to study creative writing… on the way, I stopped in Fiji for a couple weeks and went to the islands.
After a day of exploring the island of Mololo Lailai, I noticed a local man who was carving one of the indigenous hardwoods to make beautiful pieces… I would get a coconut, buy him one, and watch him carve…
I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, but I offered him $20 and asked him if he could carve me something that showed his skill, so I could remember the passion he had for the attention to detail and patience he brought to his pieces…
He told me to come back to visit him in 3 days, and when I came back, he presented me with this wooden bowl… and when I saw it, I was completely blown away…
He carved these 2 connected bowls from a single piece of wood, by hand, utilizing a strategy where he carved an unbroken wooden ring and the tabs on each bowl first, and then painstakingly carved both bowls and somehow made them balance perfectly and sit together or separate… in 3 days 😳
Every time I see it, I am reminded that passion, dedication, and patience are critical to producing anything of beauty… and it inspires me to take the longer and harder road, to put in the time and effort to do my best in whatever skill I am pursuing…
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