You can't mass produce uniqueness

Do you spend part of your time working on and worrying about
"self improvement"? If so, it is important to not inadvertently
stamp out your uniqueness, in favor of a mass produced version of
"perfection."

Here's a story to illustrate my point.

On a recent afternoon I went to a pottery shop outside of Tokyo,
and happened to meet the potter who had stopped in to check on
her staff.

After looking around the shop I invited the owner over and we
chatted. The first thing she talked about was how a potter never
knew what was going to wind up coming out of the kiln. Each kiln
opening she said, was somewhat like Christmas morning. Sometimes
you got many wonderful gifts, and sometimes you wound up with
coal in your stocking. Like when most of the pieces explode in
the kiln due to severe changes in atmospheric weather conditions.
It is the serendipity she said, that makes the work so magical.
"It helps you to stay humble, and you learn to surrender to and
accept the unknown," she said.

Next, she talked to me about design and functionality. Topics
important to most all potters. "No sense in having a good looking
piece that is awkward to use, and no sense having a boring
looking piece that is highly functional." she said.

Since I was definitely going to buy something, I picked out six
pieces to choose from, set them on the counter, and asked the
lady to tell me a bit about each piece.

"Let me share with you how I recognize the hoped for
imperfections in my work," she said, "By talking about three of
the pieces you have interest in."

"Notice with this first piece how the glaze is not of consistent
thickness over the inside surface. I tried the best I could to
smooth out the glaze," she said, "But this is a very tough glaze
to work with."

"Nonetheless, for me, it is the inconsistency of the glaze that
makes this piece so interesting." she said. "It is the
inconsistency that makes for the range of color that the glaze
exhibits in this piece."

"With this next piece you notice that the bowl is not fully round
in shape. I am a small woman, and this is a large piece for me to
throw on the wheel. In fact it is the biggest piece I am
currently able to throw. I love making some this size, because
these bowls really test my limits. There is a certain tension
present when the shape goes out of being fully round, and this is
what draws me to this piece."

"Finally" she said, "With this third piece you will notice that
the price is considerably less than the other pieces."

"It is a good piece of work," she said, "but I feel it is a bit
'too good' and thus looks like it could have been machine made.
That is why the price is considerably cheaper."

"The shape is perfectly round, and the glaze flows evenly over
the entire pot, and thus the piece does not have a sense of
uniqueness. I have stopped making this shape and size because I
know how to make them all too well. When they come out this
perfect I feel like the soul of the pots get left in the kiln.

She bowed ever so much, and said "Would you like some tea? I have
some locally grown strawberries, and it is always best to eat
them at this time of year, with a warm cup of tea." Charlie Badenhop is the originator of Seishindo, an Aikido
instructor, NLP trainer, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist.
Benefit from a new self-help Practice every two weeks, by
subscribing to his complimentary newsletter "Pure heart,
simple mind" at http://www.seishindo.org/anger/index.html .


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