The staff went on a half-day glass blowing retreat last week. We each created a piece, with the guidance of a couple of experts who kept us from hurting ourselves or causing too much damage. For some of us, it was the first time we had created anything out of glass. We needed skillful guidance!

No matter what we were creating, though, the pieces all began the same way. Even before gathering the first molten glass from the furnace, each of us had to begin with clarity about what we were making. If we didn’t have an end goal in mind, we wouldn’t know how to proceed.

When I think about our instructors, I imagine that they held multiple goals in mind. Of course, they wanted each of us to successfully complete a piece. And I’m defining “success” in the most basic way.

It was evident that our guides held a goal of safety as well. What we were creating wasn’t nearly as important as how we were creating it. The process of creation mattered. And part of the challenge for our instructors was knowing when to stand back and when to step in and take over for a moment. They were mindful of keeping the process safe and successful.

I believe they held a third priority as well: They wanted each of us to feel a sense of accomplishment. That might mean different things for every person, but our personal satisfaction with the experience was part of the equation.

So, in addition to having a vision for what we were creating, and a mindful approach to how we created, it also mattered how we felt about the process. If we safely produced something we intended to make, but we didn’t feel very good about the experience, it wouldn’t have been a complete success.

In our personal lives, there may be a lot of things we hope to accomplish. Add to that what we hope to create as a congregation, and you’ve got a pretty long list of goals. It can feel like the most important thing is just that we get through the list and manage to do everything we say we’re going to do. Everything feels urgent, and we only have so much time.

Sometimes, we probably lack clarity about what exactly we’re hoping to accomplish. I wonder if it’s more frequent that we don’t think about how we do what we set out to do. As individuals and as a community, I wonder if there is something to be gained by being more intentional about the way we accomplish the things we intend. And recognizing how we (and our co-creators) feel about the way we’re doing what we’re doing.

Our glassblowing instructors seemed skillful at holding all three priorities: Clarity about what was being created, mindfulness about how it was being created, and awareness of how we felt about the process. How might we invite a little more of that balance?

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