One of my favorite book stores in New York is called Mercer Street Books & Records. I went there with my girlfriend the other day, and I found this book:

When I saw the title, I knew I had to read it. I felt a strangely strong urge which was very interesting to me. After reading the book, I think I know why I felt so compelled.

So, recently, for the past year or so, I have been doing a lot of…anxious contemplating. These thoughts are accompanied with what I can only describe as an impatient urge. It actually reminds me of my dog when he’s itching to run out of the house into the yard – I have no idea where I want to go, but all I know is that I don’t want to stay put.

Then, a few weeks ago, I wrote a comedy skit, and had the opportunity to perform it at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater. It went over decently. Got a few laughs. But above all else, I was surprised at how much I felt a release. The anxious feelings I felt were immediately flipped on its end and I felt a rush.

It was immediately obvious that the act of creation was intrinsically related to my anxious thoughts. Making things somehow felt right.

Then I found this book. The title posited a question to me that I didn’t even think to ask. After reading the title, I wanted to know how making fit into a bigger picture if there was any. I wanted to read a story from a person who had made creation his life. I wanted to know how he got there, and wanted to know what he found.

In my opinion, the book does a wonderful job of answering those questions. It’s a very personal story about one master craftsman’s life, but it’s a story that applies broadly. The earlier sections of the book where Peter Korn talks about his youth, details his experiencing of existential anxieties which were personally very relatable. Later in the book, Peter Korn writes about a few epiphanies he’s had later in his life, of which I found the following to be the most reassuring and guiding to me:

My own values became clear when I eventually realized that the words I used to describe my aesthetic goals as a furniture maker – integrity, simplicity, and grace – also described the person I sought to grow into through the practice of craftsmanship…

The simple truth is that people who engage in creative practice go into the studio first and foremost because they expect to emerge from the other end of the creative gauntlet as different people.

Peter Korn, Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman

He describes creation as a self-transformative activity, through which people strive to imbue their creations with qualities they themselves aspire to. I found this idea liberating as it opened up a way to rewire my brain to translate my internal anxieties into opportunities – as long as I feel anxious and wanting to improve, that’s more creating I get to do. I’m not saying I don’t feel anxious anymore, but it was a nice feeling to be able to channel these feelings in a positive manner.

All in all, this was a great book that I feel came to me at a really appropriate time. Personally, I can’t recommend this book enough.