The Wedge

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands, his head and his heart in an artist.

-St. Francis of Assisi

This week while passing through Asheville, I went to the Wedge, one of the town's many brew
pubs as Asheville vies with Portland, Oregon in becoming America's brew capital.

Personally I liked the bean bag toss (at which I sucked) and the decor, metal parts welded together to create art.

But words painted in various sections across the outdoor wall caught my attention. The words were those above of St. Francis.

Later it occurred to me that the powers that be have tried to convince most people that they're laborers when really we're all artists. We all have hands, hearts and minds yet what was once factory owners and now corporate America needs our hands to do their labor and thus make them millions rather than realize we are artists.


If we're going through the motions of living without really engaging in life life becomes labor and we are more likely to be divided, to have a wedge driven between us.

With presence and heart, labor is art. With presence and heart, living is art. I imagine a world in which each person realizes he or she is an artist! Imagine that shift.

-Dawn, The Good News Muse, 5 August 2011
dawn@imaginetheshift.com