Robert Genn on "The Sublime Gift"

The sublime gift

February 25, 2011

Dear Sherrie,

With my weakness for studying creative people, asking trick questions, and listening to dreams and rants, I've decided that some artists are blessed with a sublime gift. It's not of talent (that's another issue) but of attitude. Further, I don't think many, if any, are born with the attitude I'm talking about. I think some simply adopt it, often by trial and error.

To set the record straight, I've met lots of people who don't have the sublime gift at all and yet are highly realized and happy. You don't have to have the sublime gift to succeed, but it helps.

My sublimely gifted person shows a steady, workmanlike curiosity for the uncovering of his or her self-anointed processes. While the outward appearance may be a simple case of smug self-satisfaction, a closer look reveals simple task absorption tempered with the humility that comes with studenthood. Many, I was surprised to find, show an innate understanding of the methodology behind the practice of meditation.

Indeed, meditation is now being revalued as one of the great tools for clearing the mind for higher purposes and actions. Have you ever heard of "MBSR"? It means "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction" and is currently enjoying a growing number of enthusiasts. According to recent research, this sort of meditation actually changes gray-matter density, setting it up for action in the "here and now" rather than in the historical past or the fantasized future. When worry dissipates, action begins. Lower stress means higher creativity. My sublimely gifted individual moves in a world of individualized, progressive exploration, divinely unimpressed by falling roof-beams.

And while my sublimely gifted whiz-bang may be capable of multi-tasking, he's also a "one thing at a time" kind of guy. Perhaps it's the sensitively laid-back meditative state, whether from Buddhist teachings or plucked from the rich storehouse of need that gives steadiness and accomplishment to an otherwise sky-falling life.

Task absorption and focus result in refreshed habits of perception. In my findings, limited and anecdotal though they may be, pretty well every winner in pretty well every field turns out to be what is known as a "good study." That quality, perhaps more than any other, brings on the sublimely gifted life.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Mindfulness meditation helps to reduce stress by providing insight. It's often our habits of perception and attitude rather than the circumstances themselves." (Lucinda Sykes, Toronto physician and MBSR course leader)

Esoterica: "Task saturation" is a term used in the airline industry. It's where a pilot (and often the co-pilot) suddenly have too many things going on and find it difficult to make wise decisions. Sadly, it's frequently mentioned as a cause in crashes. Pressure interferes with the ability to prioritize. Funnily, "too many things going on" is also a condition of the creative and inventive. It's a wise artist who learns to manage her own pressures.