The Art of Woodchopping
Woodchopping in the olden days was a work that provided fuel for the fire and had far greater value than today. In a way this is good because now it’s a work not attached to anything, unless you have a wood cabin stocked with wood. When we chop wood we need to empty ourselves, we need to ground ourselves, be in balance, straighten our back, be present and show courage and decisiveness. We become the sharp edge of the axe. Our goal is not to hit the top of the log that is standing in front of us, we want to hit the bottom of that log. Just as in shooting an arrow, you envision the arrow being in the target when you aim. We place the axe on the wood, where we want to hit it. We inhale and on inhaling we lift the axe over our head, the right hand slides down on top of the left (if you are right-handed), we drop the axe, exhale and on the last 1/3 of the way down we pull the handle, we drop the hips and bend the knees to exhilarate the momentum, and with a short, loud scream we land the axe on the spot where we first started, in all probability slicing through the wood and sinking the axe in the log that is standing under.
We need to empty ourselves, we need to be clear, we need to be fully in the moment, or the axe will miss, bounce off, dragging us behind it in its now goalless flight of energy.
What happens in this emptiness is that whatever is bothering you, whatever subject you are chewing on, can escape the head, flow through the body, resonate in each axe stroke, be brought out on the sharp edge and viewed almost objectively.
Now, here I need to get a bit poetic, so to say: We are the axe, the axe is us. It is no longer an extension of our consciousness, it is our consciousness. We see with it, we view the wood with the eyes of the axe, where to land it, what problems we might encounter and how to work through them. What happens on the outside happens on the inside as we view our problem, our anger, we bring it to a (boiling) point but in full control, directing our power, our decisiveness and landing the stroke in full awareness of the consequences of our actions.
The axe, a metaphor of a masculine movement.
Considering Men's work and connecting to the, divine if you will, masculine, it is about connecting to the clear vertical direction.
In my opinion, there is no clearer example of this then in wielding an axe and bringing it down on a log of wood. The axe and the arch it makes representing the decision and the weight of one's intention, one's will to make this decision. The log representing the matter at hand, the situation one is facing where a decision is needed.
So we make this clear vertical, we are this clear vertical, raising the axe above our heads, keeping our eyes on the situation, on the wood. In doing so we show our vulnerability, we expose our belly and our heart in the moment before we make our decision and bring the axe down.
Woodchopping, therefore, is a beautiful meditative practice enabling us to embody the proces of connecting to the vertical, masculine movement.
I happily share my Philosophy of the Axe and the Art of Woodchopping during workshops and various events. If you'd like to book me for an event or have questions, contact me here.
