September 5 - Temper

When you first get your materials, they will be base and unrefined. They will not very much resemble what they will eventually become. You may use them as they are, of course, but those rough chunks and pieces have such potential, can you but unlock it. How could you resist the urge to create something wondrous?

To do this, you will need tools. You may buy them, of course, for they will come in many shades of quality. Some will be cheap, and flimsy, and though you struggle to shine despite them they will make you and your work less. Some will be fine and strong, and you will revel in their action and wonder why it took you so long to find them. The best tools, however, you will make yourself. Carve the wood and shape the steel, and you will know every nuance and quirk of your tools, each stress and breaking point.

Once you have your tools you may begin. First, and fundamentally most important, you must have a flame, bright and hot. You must be able to control this flame, to make it blaze or to make it glow. You must calm its temperamental nature so that it is steady and even, that your creation will not be flawed. Slowly heat your raw materials, too fast and you will destroy them. Soon your raw materials will begin to soften, and this stage is critical. Fold it upon itself, time and time again, until it is smooth and fairly gleams in the light. By doing so you will make it harder, but you will also make it brittle. Here now you may add other agents, to strengthen or colour your materials.

After this, you must cool it delicately. Too fast and it will shatter. Take it from your flame and set it in a pan of water, making sure that no part stays too long. Soon enough you may complete the finishing touches. Smooth it with steel or hard wood. Make sure it spreads evenly, so as to avoid lumpiness. As it cools to hardness you should see the light gleam mellow across its surface. There may be more that you will do. Perhaps you will carve it, etch it, and cover it with graceful patterns of sinuous lines. Perhaps you will set it with things that shine green or blue or red, or wrap it in delicate filigrees. Or perhaps you will embellish it not, and keep it in its pure simplicity, for there is beauty in that also.

When you are finished, what have you made? Is it for you alone, or is it for many? Does it reflect who you are inside, or perhaps who you want to be? Is it fantastical and creative? Simple and elegant? Solid and comforting? Whatever qualities you have imbued with it, you have fed into it your time and your energies. The mere act of creation has rendered it wondrous.

It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate.