Forging

The bellows blew high the flaming forge;
The sword was hammered on the anvil.
It was the same steel as in the beginning,
But how different was its edge!

—Nyogen Senzaki, The Iron Flute

Untrained, undisciplined, we are like raw steel. Without the forge, without training and discipline, we can never carry a proper edge and be put to use. We sit rusting in the corner instead.