Navigating the technical & the transformational

So…

There are the questions of the day, and the questions of the age.

Which ones are you asking?

Questions of the day – for me

For me, I’m always tempted by the questions of the day. For me, these become related to technical questions, production questions, questions of process & distribution. These are the areas that when I am under pressure, or have a distracted brain, that I get lost in.

I want answers, and I want them now!

Actually, I’ve achieved a lot by making a priority of pursuing these kinds of questions, and I don’t regret it!

Doing my “best” work (personality)

As an INFP (Myers-Briggs type), I’m at my best when I am doing work that allows me to connect people, ideas and possibilities with a deep sense of meaning. So, the slower burning, creative work of transformation, change and new life often seems to be where I find myself coming alive the most.

The thing is, the key word in that sentence seems to be SLOW… and we live in a fast world. So there’s always temptation to try to bypass the slow work and live solely in a more urgent work of daily life.

Developing weaker areas – details, systems, objectivity

An important side angle on this is growth and development. Each of is wired to excel in different kinds of work and situations, and we all need to develop weaker areas/non-dominant preferences in our lives to become more healthy and whole, more effective in our various areas of work. For me that seems to relate to developing my ability to engage the active urgencies of the day.

Development in my life

Here’s some of what that development meant for me. Through studying computer science, I learned to think systematically and logically, accessing precise language, processes and flows of information to solve problems.

I improved my musical ability when I knuckled down under a relatively vigorous technical regime.

Although I didn’t understand physics lessons at high school, with the patient tuition of more skilled friends I eventually learning how to put together a sound system, and later pursued further up-skill by (trying to) learn the art and craft of music recording and engineering.

I also studied the Bible and Theology at University, much of which was like an enforced disciplining of my ability to think, understand and reason in ways that did not seem to come easily to me.

Necessary growth… but not a place to live

All of these aspects of growth have been necessary for me, and they are the ground on which I now build. I like working with these skills. But they are all areas of detail, logic and process that go endlessly deep and which I could become lost in (sometimes willing so).

But I am not at my best when I become immersed in any of these worlds. They are areas to play in, to explore, to creatively arrange in different ways, and especially to utilise and build upon the acquired learnings – but not to live inside.

The Deeper Questions

I’m interested instead in what the slowing burning questions are.

I’m wondering how I can pay attention to the work of meaning, relationship, change, transformation… the areas of true importance (at least in my world!) which won’t get solved today, or even this year.

I’m wondering how I can stay engaged and up-to-date in a technical world without getting lost in it.

What about you?

What questions are you asking as you go along the way?

Are you solely immersed in the technical, the urgent, the short-term focus of the day? I hope that you can somehow finding a way in the midst of the busyness of covid-19 lockdown to keep space for engaging the bird’s eye view.

I wondering what thing you’re sitting with that could shape our conversations in the post-covid-era?

grace & peace

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