What Splitting Wood Taught Me

[Varoun]

(This is my first post in the Woot Room, so I apologize if it seems too long.)

I've recently taken up a new form of exercise. My stepfather introduced me to it about a two weeks ago, and I've been lovin' it ever since. It's a nice form of release, and you can easily see your progress. Splitting wood.

Today was different though. I got my jacket on, stepped out into Indiana's first snowfall, and went into the barn, my weapon of choice—a 16-pound splitting maul—resting over my shoulder. Once I got settled in, I started doing what I always did. Lift, drop, split. Lift, drop, split. It's a repetitive task, but effective and entertaining. 

About thirty minutes into it, though, I had finished splitting one log and moved onto the next. I was told that splitting a log with a knot in it was a challenge, and they aren't usually meant to be split because of the sheer amount of resistance the wood gives you. But today I just decided to say 'to hell with it' and gave it a try. It didn't help that the wood was also in a Y-shape, but I figured with enough time, I would be victorious. 

And what followed was two hours of chopping, grunting, sweating and yelling. 

Now, I'm not a strong guy. I'm only just beginning of my journey to a better body. So when I started chopping away, I didn't really think about just how much effort I was going to have to put into this damn piece of wood. It just wouldn't split! No matter how much I swung and chopped and split, no matter which angle or side I tried, I got nothing more than bits and pieces of splinters. I was getting frustrated.

After an hour, though, I began noticing a parallel to the rest of my life. This knotted piece of wood, so resistant to my maul and my swings, was similar to some of the other problems I was facing. No matter what I seemed to do, I just couldn't make it do what I wanted it to do. And much like most other problems in my life, I thought about giving up. Throwing in the towel. I mean, it was small enough at that point to toss into my fireplace, I could easily just carry it inside. 

And I don't know what happened, but I just decided that I wasn't going to stop. It had been split from all angles, my maul barely made a dent in the wood up until that point—but I wasn't going to give up. Not this time. I promised myself that I wasn't leaving that damn barn until that wood was in two. So I kept splitting. For another thirty minutes. Then an hour. And the longer I split, the more splinters I was making, the weaker that piece of wood was getting. 

Eventually, at the end, I was panting and sweating like a pig. I gave it one more swing, and I heard that tell-tale CRACK. And I watched as that splintered, broken piece of wood cracked down the middle and separated into two pieces. Finally satisfied, I dropped the maul and finally went back inside. 

I walked away from the maul and the split wood today with a newfound resolve to apply the lessons I learned splitting wood to the rest of my life. I'm tired of giving up. 

Also, sorry for making it so long. I was just so excited I had to share it all. 

[Varoun]

Oh, and I'm definitely not tossing this wood into the fireplace. I'm keeping a piece of it as a reminder.

[ReachingForTheStars]

This absolutely made my day.

 

Ironically, I hate splitting wood, go figure.  Maybe I'll see it in a new light now, lol.

[wildross]

I love splitting wood.  Congrats on sticking with it.  (I'd suggest using a smaller maul as well, say 8#, that way it's more about the skill...)

[Guest]

Wow, that story made my day!

Congratulations! And thank you for the motivation

[rachtheweevil]

I love this, it really resonates, so congrats and thank you for sharing.

 

Now just wishing I had some wood and an axe here in suburban UK!

[RescuedRuckus]

This made my night to read.  I'm so glad you found the parallel and gained something from it!  Keep on splitting!

[Guest Dirty Deads]

I credit splitting wood with the reason I have always had big shoulders. Great workout and you just feel like a fucking man after it is done. I remember the days I'd mark the log as fast as I could because my dad was chasing me with the chainsaw and I was pretty certain he wasn't going to slow down for me.

 

Well done. I prefer the splitting wedge/ back of the splitting maul method. It always seemed to split better for me.

[STFU&TRAIN]

I credit splitting wood with the reason I have always had big shoulders. Great workout and you just feel like a fucking man after it is done. I remember the days I'd mark the log as fast as I could because my dad was chasing me with the chainsaw and I was pretty certain he wasn't going to slow down for me.

 

Well done. I prefer the splitting wedge/ back of the splitting maul method. It always seemed to split better for me.

 

Oh splitting wood, love/hate relationship hahaha. My cousins and I spent most summers splitting cord after cord for my grandma.

[Basement Cat]

Wow, that's a great story and a great lesson to learn from it! Thank you so much for sharing!

 

Stay sharp (pun fully intended)

[Pat G]

Awesome stuff Varoun, I encountered determination like that when I first started splitting logs too. Keep it up for some real dad strength :-)

Sent with/by my phone thing

[Varoun]

Thanks for all the kind words, and I'm glad the story resonated with some of you! I'm still splittin' wood of course. I'm actually about to go out right now for an hour or two and bring a few loads in so we have plenty for the rest of this month! The lessons I learned splitting have already translated to other aspects of my life -- like finishing my novel for NaNoWriMo, and then after that completing my first game. I've been getting more into cooking as well, since I'm a terrible cook with the desire to get better. I made it one of my six-week challenges and I'm stickin' to it.