The Incomplete Artisan

Finding approaches in the "Quiet Before"

One of the things I notice about those I know and work with, whom I have come to understand as artisans, is that they are never “done”—not in the manner of not having reached a goal, but rather that goals are not that important to them. They are looking for something more.

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There’s a piece by Tim Gallwey that I have on my desk in a small frame:

“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as "rootless and stemless." We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”
W. Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance

I find it a valuable reminder, when even now, I fret at being unable to grasp something I am trying to understand and explain. I know that anything worthwhile will emerge in its time, rather than mine, and equally, that it will.

The “something” I am chasing is how to describe the space I think of as “the quiet before” in a way that encourages those chasing the performance being demanded by those who pay them to pause for a moment and consider the part it plays in the bigger picture of their lives. “Performance” is a key measure when it is clear what it supports, though a dangerous one when it becomes a measure in isolation, acting like some form of manic ouroboros, eating itself.

The thing about the quiet before is that it is, well, quiet. It is an essential opportunity to observe what is happening around and within us, and allow what needs to, rather than what we want, to emerge and then harness it. The system is bigger than we are; we are part of a tiny part of it, so we must dance with it, not try fruitlessly to control it.

It’s a poignant thought as I write this, at 7:00 am on a morning that seems to be pointing us at a result in the American election that promises to increase uncertainty, bigly.

“The secret of the demagogue is to appear as dumb as his audience so that these people can believe themselves as smart as he is.”
― Rebecca Goldstein, Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel

So, I think it comes down to basics. Who we are, what we believe, what we are part of, and where we are going. Our work matters far beyond what “performance” brings. Performance, in isolation, is an unguided missile. At its best, it can build and strengthen communities, create opportunities to make things that matter, and a better future for our children. At its worst, we increase the asymmetry of opportunity already hobbling us.

I was part of a beautiful conversation yesterday on EQLab with “attention as a moral duty” as its theme offered by

Geoff Marlow

and it seems even more critical this morning. In a world of increased uncertainty, where we place our attention matters. not on the volatile incoherent space that is international politics, but locally, connecting our work to those we know and value, to the health of our communities, building the resilience that we will need to grasp the unexpected, inevitable opportunities that will emerge from the storm we are in.

Incompleteness is vital because it is where “the quiet before” lives, where we must focus rather than on the blind pursuit of performance for its own sake. It is the domain of the artisan, of those who use the materials they have to hand to create beauty in unexpected ways, rather than the predictability and mediocrity of mass production.

This is a reminder that our next Outside the Walls group call will be on November 13th at 5:00pm UK time. There is no agenda, just a starting point of connection. Pop it in your diary. Dots need company in the quiet before.

I’ll send links and reminders in the week before it.

It feels as though the USA is about to transition from a place that hosted big business, to being a big business in its own right. We have no idea how that might pan out, but we can be certain, in an uncertain world, that it will need artisans.