October was quite a difficult month. But I won’t go into that. What is intriguing is to note the one time during the month when I felt “flow.”
According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, The metaphor of flow describes the sense of effortless action that makes an experience genuinely satisfying. During flow, one
experiences deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life–similar to what athletes refer to as being in the zone.
In October I gave a talk on the Florentine Renaissance at the Las Campanas Club in Santa Fe. The dynamic audience of thirty people, were well-traveled, well-educated, and so appreciative of my talk that many informed me during the dinner after, that they’d already said to the Event Coordinator that they wanted me to come back and give another talk. My mother happened to be visiting that week and was pleasantly surprised that her week coincided with my talk. She was brimming with enthusiasm as we sat down for a lovely dinner with the rest of the audience in the grand and ever-so-tasteful Club House. I replied to her, “Most of what you saw, I owe to Dale Kent.” (The professor under whom I studied.)
My sister gave her best shot at filming some of it on a little Canon camera. The battery ran out half way through. Thus, there’s no recording of when I covered Botticelli’s paintings, and how they relate to the particular brand of Humanism of Lorenzo dei Medici’s court. This is a wonderful topic and I was probably even more in the flow by then, so it’s a shame we didn’t get it on tape. However, below is a link where you can view some pieces of the talk.
Unfortunately I rarely have the opportunity to teach my topic, because the community colleges want me to teach the “bread & butter” history classes, and even if I did teach a Florentine Renaissance course for a community college, I’m not convinced I’d have the same “flow” experience because my audience would be different.
To give these talks, to a dynamic audience who is almost as excited about this topic as I am, allows me to experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and total involvement with something I love. I want to mention Dale, my professor, once more here, because I couldn’t have done it without her. I’ve long-loved history and I used to study the Florentine Renaissance as a hobby, but I couldn’t have achieved the deep intellectual understanding of it without her. And I couldn’t have arrived at the position of professor of this topic, without her. When I was in the flow that evening at Las Campanas, doing what I love, I was aware that I owe so much of it to her.
Lastly, I’d like to suggest the importance of noticing when we’re in that kind of flow. If you feel confused about the direction your life should go, if you’re feeling burdened by life’s challenges, if you want to feel more awake, more engaged, and want to feel more flow and ease in your life, I encourage you to look back at the last few months or years, and ask yourself “was there a moment, or a few hours, or a few days, when I was in the flow?”
Pinpoint what you were doing when you felt that flow, and figure out how to get more of that in your life.
I’m glad you were able to edit the video- this was a great talk!!!!
Put a license on your talk!
Um…. how do I do that?
Very interesting video Chandi.
(And such wonderfully crisp and sharp titles!)
Ha ha, you know how much fustering I went through to get the title NOT to be blurry! The filming is rather problematic. My sister should have been in the 1st row, not the 2nd. Oh well. Maybe next time I can get a professional one done!
An interesting sample video, of your extensive knowledge of Italian Renaissance history! You communicate it clearly and you field questions easily and accurately. It made me want to be there for the entire lecture! Well done!