Do you perform your craft for attention or the passion of the art you are creating? If we need attention, then we might wait until the crowd assembles. We might play regardless of whether an audience assembles if we are passionate about our craft.
How do the departure and arrival experiences differ? When leaving an airport, I am keen to wayfind to my mode of transportation. When I return for departure, I often notice details that eluded me on my way out. We are looking for different clues and ignoring characteristics when we focus on a specific task.
Static might be disruptive and aggravating. It can seize our attention and disrupt our regularly scheduled programs. It transforms how we perceive time. But, it might be the forerunner to a significant event or tectonic shift. How might we remain curious about moments of misalignment and uncertainty? How might we remember that those who came to the edge of the Grand Canyon or trekked into Yellowstone’s Geyser Basin felt doubtful until something unprecedented emerged?
Nothing worthy of emergency importance is posted here.
What is the mindset we adopt when the alarms sound to go on alert? How do we use our emergency broadcast system to support our team? Is it deployed with sobriety and forethought, or does every abnormal event qualify as breaking news? It is easy to draw attention, but the arduous dip we must travel is achieving trusted engagement. Is it worth the effort to serve with fidelity, or easier to adopt the role of shock and awe ringmaster?
Some items attract and repel (not a scientific definition of magnets). Yesterday, I used aluminum foil next to the microwave while heating up oatmeal. The aluminum foil pieces sailed off the counter. I was perplexed until I realized I had created an unsustainable environment in which these two items could not co-exist.
Consider the activities that are on your ‘not a chance’ list. It might be walking over a swinging bridge, teaching preschool, entering a burning structure, voting for a policy, spending money on a luxury, or eating a local delicacy. There are activities that we are not willing to try (or the condition have not forced us to attempt them).
How might we resonate with those who see our work as essential and not seek the attention of those who are not ready to engage?
What-if-concepts 