story

The story behind the picture.

Here, presented before you is a very deep, heart-felt gift to the ever encouraging works of Touch of Enchantment Network. There are many symbolic stories hidden with-in the structure of this crafted design. Hopefully I can explain them to you.

One evening I was reading a book to one of my sons. The book was Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth. I was tossed in to tears as I read. The story was about three wise monks that trick a frightened community into finding happiness by teaching them the magic of generosity. My imagination only thinking of one place a story like this could take place. A cozy little shop in a lazy little town with a greater population of people that didn’t care as did. The story stuck with me and I began to brainstorm on ways I could interject the story into this cozy little shop. Giving the books away, a sign, a sculpture and so on. Then as fate would have it, you asked me for the perfect thing - a counter-space. Thus explains the stones on the front. “Here - we make Stone Soup!”

The cedar corner post, as fate would have it again, were repurposed from the basement of the cozy little shop. They had served their time as pillars of the building. The landlord had asked me to replace them with steel. They were hardened with the events around them during their many years of work. Marked with the beauty of time; I could not simply dispose of them. I only kept them for a few days before 2 and 2 came together. They helped me on a transition of materials, natural stone to man-made wood; and now, a piece of where the shop started could now travel with each step of its evolution.

The fir bar top was something that has been with me most of my life. It was built by my father and siblings for a basement kitchen/bar in the house I grew up in. Originally having a brick base, it was converted to have removable legs. It moved with me to college, and then unable to part with it, I have stored it for many moons. Again, like pieces to a puzzle, it fell into place. The perfect use!

There are a few things with the top I would like to point out. The arch on the front is less than perfect, to me, symbolizing the world around us is not in perfect symmetry. None the less, it looks happy most of the time.

There are three round pegs drove into the top. To me, symbolizing mind, body and spirit. Each one well engrained in the cells around it. The three pegs having a united harmony, but not always a perfect symmetry. Sometimes we may have to move a lot of cells to make a perfect harmony. The depth, color and beauty of the wood grain, once was considered to be just a rough-cut piece of lumber.

One Blue Tile…Symbolizing, simply, the following movie quote:

Liz Gilbert: Dear friends and loved ones: My birthday's coming up soon. If I were home, I'd be planning a stupid, expensive birthday party and you'd all be buying me gifts and bottles of wine. A cheaper, more lovely way to celebrate would be to make a donation to help a healer named Wayan Nuriyasih buy a house in Indonesia. She's a single mother. ln Bali, after a divorce, a woman gets nothing, not even her children. To gain custody of her daughter, Tutti, Wayan had to sell everything, even her bath mat, to pay for a lawyer. For years, they've moved from place to place. Each time, Wayan loses clientele and Tutti has to change schools. This little group of people in Bali have become my family. And we must take care of our families, wherever we find them. Today I saw Tutti playing with a blue tile she'd found in the road near a hotel construction site. She told me: Maybe if we have a house someday, it can have a pretty blue floor like this. When I was in Italy, I learned a word - It's "tutti" with double T, which in ltalian means "everybody." So that's the lesson, isn't it? When you set out in the world to help yourself, sometimes you end up helping Tutti. Eat Pray Love (2010)

So yes, if I had the means I would build a great house for “everybody”. If there is a vision, then a will, then success must surly follow, right?

A good number of the materials used to build this were reused, recycled or donated by a couple of fix it guys. The costs of the rest of the materials were spread out over so much time they no longer have a cost. Please accept my apologies for taking so long.

Each piece carefully fastened together with love, admiration and a little vision. Though there are no physical symbols on the piece, I assure you they are near. It is well protected and charged with love ready for you to use for the greatest good.

Joe Carswell, Reiki Master

Carswell Designs & Consulting