At First it Broke us, Then it Built Us

I have a secret to tell…. I get a lot of my inspiration for writing and living while riding a bike going no where.

I enjoy starting my mornings waking up way earlier than I want to and sharing a hot cup of coffee with Randy before he heads out the door. If I want an actual marriage, this is a necessary step to the day since I chose a logger for a life partner. At around 5am he leaves and I head down to my basement and ride fast to no where. There are many advantages to this ritual, the most obvious being my health, but working out with an instructor who inspires me with not only physical toughness, but mental toughness is what keeps me getting on that bike over and over. Because I don’t like to make anything easy, I self select into interval classes often. I like to get the most bang for my buck and I choose to almost kill myself for 30 minutes so that I can get high off adrenaline and feel like I can concur the world. This morning on my daily scenic ride staring at concrete, the instructor said something that really stuck with me:

“At first it broke us, then it built us”

It almost felt like that should be a title to a book about the logging industry. Actually, I think it could be a book about everyone living right now. With mill closure after mill closure, work force shortages, emerging from a pandemic, absolutely crushing inflation, and all the other obstacles, loggers (and, well everyone) have felt quite broken. I have always known that what doesn’t kill us does, in fact, make us stronger. From the bottom of the trenches is where all the greatest innovation comes and I am enthusiastic about the future of the logging industry and the world. (Maybe I am still high on adrenaline, but it’s ok… I am gonna go with it)

I also find my inspiration in song lyrics, which I know is true for many people and I just love the Michael Jackson lyrics from Man in the Mirror

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could've been any clearer
If they wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change

I am trying to find little ways that I can make the world a place that I want to be in and more importantly, where my children will grow. One of the most important things to me in supporting a healthy society is the ability of each and every person to be able to support themselves. I am reading a book called American Made by Farah Stockman. I am not through the whole book, but right now it is telling the story of mill workers in Indianapolis who lost their jobs to a mill closure. The workers were well paid and proud of their product. The work force was extremely diverse, yet bonded by the common goal of creating the best bearings in the world. The story continues to tell of what happens when the mill closes…. while I haven’t gotten that far yet, I anticipate that some use the pain and struggle to catapult them into greatness, and some completely lose their identity and fall into drugs and poverty. I decided to read the book because, I believe that we all desire to be productive. Being productive together and for the greater good, not solely for our own good, is what makes healthy, happy humans. I obviously cannot bring that mill back, but what can I do?

First and foremost, we can obviously do our homework and vote. Even more than voting, we can actually communicate directly with those who are charged with the power to make changes that impact us. I talk, in excess, to all of the politicians. I don’t care which party they are a part of, my troubles are the same either way and it is our duty to let them know what they are and how their decisions impact us. My hope is and will always be that our state and our country head in the direction of self reliance and freedom to create greatness with less red tape. For our little area of the world, the key to all of it- mental health, prosperity, security, community, diversity- is attracting markets, investments, and innovation. People coming together to create something is very engrained in us Mainers. We love to be doing, building, creating. For loggers, we know how to harvest wood and manage our businesses, but we need more markets. Our mill towns need investment. Politicians can throw all the taxpayer money they want at us and it will never solve Maine’s problems. Our rural communities depend on the jobs created by mills. Without them, the drugs, mental illness, and poverty quickly move in.

Secondly, we can lead by example. If you want something to change, we can start with changing it ourselves. Passion, community, and generosity are contagious and addictive, as are negativity, isolation, and selfishness. Choose your drug wisely here. It is hard to be positive during this economic climate- trust me I KNOW! But let’s talk about what’s going well and capitalize on it. Like for instance, the epic, dry, hot summer we had. We can celebrate when we have a great team and are fully staffed. Let’s talk about how fortunate we are to be able to get up every day and do work we love, even when it is hard. Let’s celebrate that loggers are creative and practical problem solvers and whatever happens, they will persevere. And lastly, GIVE. Give all you can, and you will be rewarded in ways you never imagined. I’m not talking about just money- give your time, your energy, your wisdom, you skills. That is how we build ourselves up as a community.

We all feel a little broken right now, but the site work takes time so we can build a solid foundation. The building is just getting started.