Today I was walking our two larger dogs, Maggie and Elvis, and we happened to pass by a home in our neighborhood that is having an addition built onto it. Just as we were in front of it, a young man of about twenty five or so appeared as he was on his way around from the back of the house to the front of the new and evolving structure. He had a heavy duty radio and a long extension cord in his hand. He noticed the three of us, looked at me and said, “I gotta have music. I’ll go crazy if I listen to myself all day.”
I smiled politely, nodded respectfully and continued walking the dogs, feeling kind of sad that this fellow has not yet realized that he has a golden opportunity to get to know himself and practice focusing all day – and get paid to do so!
The amount of skilled crafts persons and trade workers who listen to the radio turned up loudly all day long – even when it blares music they (or their coworkers) don’t like, or talk shows spewing opinions they don’t agree with just boggles my mind. I wonder how many of them take advantage of the time to be in the moment, focus their attention and really breathe while they create and assemble their own brand of “hands on” magic…
Long ago in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, I once worked for a very renowned flooring company for a few months. Their method of operation was to send out two man crews to do most of the jobs, and added more teams or specialized staining and finishing crews as necessary. The company was very professional and understood that each of the crews must like each other and work well together because they would be in close proximity day after day. As the “new guy”, I was sent out with different partners on successive jobs, and afterwards there was a review of the process. This went on for a few weeks and I learned a good deal about flooring as well as people’s personalities and work styles. Some were ok to work with, some were a nightmare and then, it happened; I found my “flooring crew partner.”
He was a quiet Russian man about ten years older than I, and his name was Victor. All of the other guys were rather loud and raucous, discussing things like hunting, fishing, partying and hockey, but Victor just seemed to go on about his business with an unusual calm, and in fact, was working without a partner when I was first paired with him.
After our introduction, I helped him load his truck in the manner he wished. He was very organized and thorough, and placed things carefully inside as opposed to tossing them in like the others did. When we arrived at our job location, all of the other tasks were approached in the same deliberate and even tempered manner. As we began to work together, I started to feel that we would become a two man crew.
It turned out that he was from Russia, and had emigrated to the US for a better life in the early nineteen eighties. His years of working in the cold, open landscape of Russia had led him to appreciate the stillness around him and led him to enjoy exploring the stillness within him. This was a surprise to me because nearly every tradesperson I had seen in action (except my father) was always of the aforementioned loud variety.
We mostly worked quietly together, but when we spoke, Victor and I discussed many things, from world history and politics to art, spirituality, music, and much more; we even found out our fathers shared the same initials after Victor noticed an “AK” etched into the utility knife I used, which was handed down to me from my dad.. Victor’s father’s name was Alexander and my father’s name was Alvin, and the second initial was a “K” in both cases. Also, my father is of Lithuanian descent, and it was good to hear about that place from Victor, who had lived far closer to it than I had ever been.
Please recall that I mentioned we enjoyed talking when we spoke – not that we spoke all the time - and that much of our work was done very quietly together, giving us a chance to think about – or not think about - many things. Also, I learned it is very interesting to listen to yourself work while doing something very physical; if you are in a state of awareness you can tell when you are doing something correctly because the breathing and motions flow very easily. Problems tend to interrupt that rhythm, and often, without even looking up, Victor would ask in that unmistakable Russian accent, “Everything is ok, yes, John?” And I would invariably answer “No” and he would offer some wisdom about how to overcome my current hurdle in a better way.
I also appreciated that whenever I made a mistake, he didn’t react like some of the other guys did. He would merely correct me by showing me what I had done wrong, why it was important to do the task the correct way, and would then demonstrate the proper technique. After his demonstrations, he would have me resume the task again immediately so that the correct way was fresh in my mind, but also to ensure that I got “right back up on the horse” and kept going.
It was a very peaceful and relaxing way to do a very physically demanding task, and even though I eventually left that company, I never forgot my friend Victor or his lessons from far, far away.
This does not mean that every task must be done in silence, or that listening to the radio is bad, but if everyone who complains that they are stressed, get no breaks in their day or dislikes their workspace were to open their ears and listen, they just might learn to enjoy what they’re hearing. I know I learned how.
I smiled politely, nodded respectfully and continued walking the dogs, feeling kind of sad that this fellow has not yet realized that he has a golden opportunity to get to know himself and practice focusing all day – and get paid to do so!
The amount of skilled crafts persons and trade workers who listen to the radio turned up loudly all day long – even when it blares music they (or their coworkers) don’t like, or talk shows spewing opinions they don’t agree with just boggles my mind. I wonder how many of them take advantage of the time to be in the moment, focus their attention and really breathe while they create and assemble their own brand of “hands on” magic…
Long ago in what seems like a galaxy far, far away, I once worked for a very renowned flooring company for a few months. Their method of operation was to send out two man crews to do most of the jobs, and added more teams or specialized staining and finishing crews as necessary. The company was very professional and understood that each of the crews must like each other and work well together because they would be in close proximity day after day. As the “new guy”, I was sent out with different partners on successive jobs, and afterwards there was a review of the process. This went on for a few weeks and I learned a good deal about flooring as well as people’s personalities and work styles. Some were ok to work with, some were a nightmare and then, it happened; I found my “flooring crew partner.”
He was a quiet Russian man about ten years older than I, and his name was Victor. All of the other guys were rather loud and raucous, discussing things like hunting, fishing, partying and hockey, but Victor just seemed to go on about his business with an unusual calm, and in fact, was working without a partner when I was first paired with him.
After our introduction, I helped him load his truck in the manner he wished. He was very organized and thorough, and placed things carefully inside as opposed to tossing them in like the others did. When we arrived at our job location, all of the other tasks were approached in the same deliberate and even tempered manner. As we began to work together, I started to feel that we would become a two man crew.
It turned out that he was from Russia, and had emigrated to the US for a better life in the early nineteen eighties. His years of working in the cold, open landscape of Russia had led him to appreciate the stillness around him and led him to enjoy exploring the stillness within him. This was a surprise to me because nearly every tradesperson I had seen in action (except my father) was always of the aforementioned loud variety.
We mostly worked quietly together, but when we spoke, Victor and I discussed many things, from world history and politics to art, spirituality, music, and much more; we even found out our fathers shared the same initials after Victor noticed an “AK” etched into the utility knife I used, which was handed down to me from my dad.. Victor’s father’s name was Alexander and my father’s name was Alvin, and the second initial was a “K” in both cases. Also, my father is of Lithuanian descent, and it was good to hear about that place from Victor, who had lived far closer to it than I had ever been.
Please recall that I mentioned we enjoyed talking when we spoke – not that we spoke all the time - and that much of our work was done very quietly together, giving us a chance to think about – or not think about - many things. Also, I learned it is very interesting to listen to yourself work while doing something very physical; if you are in a state of awareness you can tell when you are doing something correctly because the breathing and motions flow very easily. Problems tend to interrupt that rhythm, and often, without even looking up, Victor would ask in that unmistakable Russian accent, “Everything is ok, yes, John?” And I would invariably answer “No” and he would offer some wisdom about how to overcome my current hurdle in a better way.
I also appreciated that whenever I made a mistake, he didn’t react like some of the other guys did. He would merely correct me by showing me what I had done wrong, why it was important to do the task the correct way, and would then demonstrate the proper technique. After his demonstrations, he would have me resume the task again immediately so that the correct way was fresh in my mind, but also to ensure that I got “right back up on the horse” and kept going.
It was a very peaceful and relaxing way to do a very physically demanding task, and even though I eventually left that company, I never forgot my friend Victor or his lessons from far, far away.
This does not mean that every task must be done in silence, or that listening to the radio is bad, but if everyone who complains that they are stressed, get no breaks in their day or dislikes their workspace were to open their ears and listen, they just might learn to enjoy what they’re hearing. I know I learned how.
Thanks Victor, wherever you are!
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