From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Mon Dec 13 2004 - 03:04:16 GMT
dmb and all,
Nice post, David. Thanks.
On 12 Dec 2004 at 17:27, David Buchanan wrote:
Mark said:
Of course Pirsig himself said there's no reason to limit the number
of levels to four; and I kind of like the idea of an Art level, maybe
between the Social and Intellectual, just ti irk my friend Platt.
OTOH, as you reminded us, Quality is Realty and everything we do is
art: philosophy, motorcycle maintenance, kicking stones and raking
leaves; so a separate Art level becomes redundant.
dmb says:
Well, we would hope that all our doings are artful, but I definately
get the impression that this idea has been widely underestimated.
msh says:
Yeah, I should have said everything we do is art, but some of our
doin's are more artful than others. Driving back from breakfast this
morning, my LTC and I discussed this very idea. I suggested there's
art in everything we do, as long as we do everything as if God was
watching over our shoulder. She laughed a little, because she knows
I don't believe in God, per se.
She drives buses for Seattle Metro, so when she realized I was sort
of serious, she asked what's artistic about driving a bus? I said
think of the driver who slides smoothly in and out of traffic, who
starts and stops without a jerk, never misses a stop, opens and
closes the door at the perfect moment, who arrives and departs never
an instant too early or too late. When you drive like that you have
a sense that it's not you who's doing the driving, and you're right.
Now compare that driver to one who accelerates rapidly and breaks
sharply, jerking passengers out of their seats, who's always off-
schedule and so is rushing or waiting, who fumes at other drivers and
his own passengers. The first is in tune with his environment, and
has God at his shoulder; the other is alone and at odds with
everything. The first is performing his task more artfully than the
second.
I finished with "It doesn't matter whether you stack cans in a
grocery aisle, or drive a bus, or pound a dent out of a fender, or
fight fires or raise children. Everything is as artful as you make
it." The rest of the way home she was silent but smiling.
Best to all,
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
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