Dedication

I was going to take a week off in recognition of the Global Holiday Halloween but then a few things happened that I should recognize….

DEDICATION

“The quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose….”

If you describe a person as dedicated you mean they are devoted to a particular purpose. Dedicated means a little more than committed.  Committed is clearly showing up consistently but dedicated is a whole body experience. 

Coaching:

I went to Los Angeles over the weekend to see my son coach his Denver University Hockey Team.  They were playing UCLA on their home ice.  Spoiler alert : they won 4-0.  It was not the winning that struck me as important,  it was the dedication that he brings to this activity.  He has other things on his plate – wife – home – job -- all of which require attention and commitment.  However, what I continue to be amazed by is his dedication to his players, assistant coaches and to the game.  For him it is a whole-body experience that brings his laser focus.  In many ways it is all consuming.  During the game he displays his skills as a caring figure who is teaching, rewarding, disciplining, encouraging and supporting.  He is willing his players to bring their best selves to this game and thus the reward is for the whole.  As I watched the game, being  present before and after the contest; I began to understand just how much of himself he brings to this experience.  In large part the team’s success is the result of his dedication to the whole.

Writing, directing, acting, producing:

At the same time, 5,896 miles away and an 8-hour time difference, my daughter was screening her film short at a festival in Geneva, Switzerland.  She, too, has brought a dedication to her life’s work.  She is dedicated to the craft of visual art through acting, writing and directing.  All aspects of this craft are her focus and dedication.  It is daunting work.  You are judged in every way possible.  The words you write, speak and the stage upon which they are performed are under the critical eyes and ears of audience and critics.  Her dedication to her craft has brought her short film to the attention of several international film festivals. This cannot be accomplished solely through the physical aspect of writing, acting and directing.  It can only be accomplished through every moment dedication to the whole.

Restaurant entertainment:

Finally, I drove to the Santa Ynez Valley to visit my friends Greg and Daisy.  I was to have lunch with Greg and then drop by to say hello to Daisy as dinner service was beginning at their Michelin Star Restaurant.  As much as they might have liked to sit down with me, it was their dedication to their craft that came first.  There is a proper way to run a restaurant and to be “of service” to your patrons.  These two entrepreneurs exemplify the proper way to make every person feel that Daisy and Greg opened their restaurant just for them.  There were services to perform and things to organize and you cannot shortcut any of them unless you are “ok” with cheating your patrons of the experience they had come to expect.  Simply put, they are dedicated to their craft…

After all of that they still had time for me!!

Witnessing  these events,  worlds apart, I thought what is it in a person that drives one to dedicate one’s whole being to a purpose or a craft? At this writing I am not sure I have a snappy answer.  What I do know is that I stand is awe of these  people who are experiencing the feeling and rewards of dedicating themselves to “ being dedicated  to a task or purpose”

There were no trophies, money or rewards for this effort.  There is only  the satisfaction of achievement to one’s dedicated purpose…...