The Toolbelt Sutra

Each tool has its purpose. The wise builder carries only what is needed.

When I was an apprentice under my father, our days often began with improvisation.

We rarely had the "right" tool.

But somehow, the work got done.

We made do. We adjusted.

We found elegance in simplicity, solutions carved from patience and ingenuity.

At the time, I thought we were unprepared.

Later, I realized we were being trained to see.

Years passed.

I began running my own work.

And I learned the quiet value of another kind of preparation.

Not scrambling but studying.

Not guessing but knowing.

Laying out the day in my mind before stepping onto the site.

Packing the belt not with everything but with just enough.

The toolbelt became a meditation.

A discipline of discernment.

A moment of stillness before motion.

To carry less is not to lack.

It is to trust the plan.

To move freely.

To let the mind be light because the pouch is light.

These days, I still carry my belt.

But it's not heavy with proof.

It's light with presence.

The old improvisation taught me to see.

The new preparation taught me to choose.

Field Note

Clarity begins before the first step. The belt is not the work; it's the way.