My Best Work

I do not see myself as an artist.

The idea of working away for years in a studio, alone, to create a masterpiece is not attractive to me.

I can appreciate the focus, the attention, that drives some artists. I am sometimes envious that some artists create works that live on after them. I think, though, that seeing tangible evidence of my mistakes would bother me.

I do not generally work with paint, or stone, or notes on paper. My best work is usually done with other people.

Michelangelo said that he would see the angel in the stone and carve until he set him free. My best work is like that. I help people who are stuck, set in stone, discover they can be freed by chipping away and letting go what they do not need.

I carry my tools with me. Listening, asking questions, sharing a sense of humor and a sense of wonder; my tools are words and the space between them. The tools I use in my work are the first things I worked to create.

My best work demands trust and honesty, effort and skill. People tell me their stories from their own points of reference. I help them hold and turn their stories in their hands, grasping them in new ways.

I have done many different kinds of work, in many different places. I have argued cases in courtrooms, taught people to find the truth, and restored order from chaos. I have worked hard to bring people together and worked hard to send people away.

My best work is the work I do today. I hear the deep truths, the sacred stories. I ask questions. I help people hear themselves.

When have you done your best work?

How do you measure the quality of your work?

[Image by gnuckx]