HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, Ark.-Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, "New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings."
Hot Springs Village resident Dennis Stelz has become a living example of that idea, overcoming a debilitating depression after losing most of his sight by finding a new way to share beauty with the world.
In 2009, Stelz had a third operation on his back. Though the surgery didn't result in total loss of pain, he did lose some 90 percent of his vision.
The Sentinel-Record reports that a Vietnam War veteran, Stelz had always been into hunting, fishing and competition shooting, winning top multistate awards in the latter. But those joys of his life required proficiency in sight he no longer had.
Stelz didn't want to do anything, go anywhere or see anyone. His only respite during those months of his life's first depression was the love of his poodle, Annie, since human interaction just wouldn't do.
His wife of nearly 43 years, Charlene, said of that period, "The two years he lost, I thought he was going to grow mold in the recliner," as his days were spent there, in a room lit only by the glow of a television screen he could barely see.
From that lack of movement, his entire body suffered. The strength in his muscles deteriorated rapidly and any endurance had all but vanished.
In addition to overcoming the physical setbacks, he suffered other losses in life, as local longtime friends suddenly stopped visiting or even speaking to him after his vision issues arose. "They all vanished," his wife said.
Fortunately, motivation did come before he reached the end of his rope. A friend from his military days who lives in Missouri made a trip down and presented Stelz with an ultimatum-either he get out of the recliner and do something, or his buddy would forcibly remove him.
He chose to get out.
Help also came in the form of a Stephen Ministry participant, who also happened to be a woodworker. Stelz had always tinkered with wood, and their connection on that level somehow rekindled an interest in devoting time to something outside himself.
He started off making boxes, later purchasing a lathe. That's when "all the squares went away and everything got round," he said.
In his previous life, Stelz hadn't taken the time for such involved pursuits, as some of his pieces require more than a hundred hours of work. He said of that commitment, "I don't get halfway involved in anything."
In the early shop days of 2011, he had to rest his body almost as long as he would stand while working. He said it took more than a year to build the strength he'd lost reclining.
In addition to the stunning finished products, the time he spent being creative furnished something more valuable-"It gives me a sense of accomplishing something," he said, which is critical for a sense of self-worth. When he's able to focus on the wood and tools, issues of the world fall away.
Another disguised gift has been that Stelz has developed "a whole lot more patience." His wife said things that used to raise his blood pressure can now be shrugged off. He said he's learned to stop wasting time with worry over things he can't change.
Of course, one area he can make a difference is in the progression of his craft. The impressive detail and finishes have evolved, increasing in quality from year to year. Stelz had built a rattlesnake in the days before this interview, complete with piercing eyes, forked tongue and individual scales, some burned to change the color.
He's able to utilize magnifiers for carrying out his work and said, "Everything I do is a challenge," as there's no peripheral up or down vision in either eye, and none at all in his left eye.
Stelz gets his materials from a shop in Little Rock where, at any time, the owner has more than 100 domestic and exotic wood types. Some making regular shop rounds include zebra wood, maple, poplar and walnut.
The craftsman hopes by sharing his journey out of despair, others will be given a sense of hope for their own lives. He said, "There's light at the end of the tunnel if you don't throw your hands up and quit."