Serendipitous
Yesterday was the deadline of quarterly call report. The report was supposed to cover 2Q of program year 2004 alone. After extracted from the call log data base and completed the repot, however, I realized that the extraction had contained even the data of 2Q of program year 2003! Since this data base is new and has not been used for more than a year, I had really taken for granted such yearly differentiation. This is a very primary mistake. Anyway, the good thing was that I did not have to redo the extraction again. Rather, I just went back to the previous extracted data (Lotus 1-2-3 format) and sorted out by year -- in doing so I was successfully removed all the 2003 data. It was very easy but it was also true that I had been a bit panicked when I realized this mistake.
Generally speaking it is a kind of difficulty every time when you try to create a certain report by extracting the necessary information from any data base. Especially when the data base is so huge, the critical part is how to set up the criteria that can sharply nail down the necessary information – only by doing so the report can be one of the effective tools that can figure out the status. The data base is just piles of unselected materials as such. If I use a negative word, it is just a garbage box. Only when we try to use the eye of selection and criteria, then some of the garbage becomes the worthwhile information. And of course, to have such eye, we also have to have our keen consciousness to what kind of information we need. It is just like cooking maybe, though I am not sure if we can make any delicious dishes out of such garbage piles, only when and if we have decided to "cook" and only when and if we have decided to "what" to cook, then our eye of selection and criteria can be activated.
But quickly I would also like to add the exceptional case when we cook from such raw data, which is the case of "creative act". As you may have experienced, in the process of creation we sometimes encounter the fact that the product (or rather work of art) has been different from what we expected in the beginning. This is one of differences between making simple (extracted) reports and creating work of art.
Using the metaphor of "cooking", sometimes we are not really aware of "what" to cook in the beginning. But the raw materials themselves can give us a certain motivation or inspiration as to what to cook or create. Materials inspire us. Or more strictly speaking, we might have a kind of unconscious purpose or intention, and then a sort of serendipitous combination of raw materials can inspire our unconsciousness as if the materials themselves could produce their own artwork by themselves.
In fact, when I start writing this today's dairy in describing the call report issue, I have never expected to write about what I am talking about now. The materials in my brain have made this particular context in a serendipitous combination. This is a technique or attitude of "letting go." Of course we should never use this for making call report, but when you want to create something, you should be aware of this powerful force.
Generally speaking it is a kind of difficulty every time when you try to create a certain report by extracting the necessary information from any data base. Especially when the data base is so huge, the critical part is how to set up the criteria that can sharply nail down the necessary information – only by doing so the report can be one of the effective tools that can figure out the status. The data base is just piles of unselected materials as such. If I use a negative word, it is just a garbage box. Only when we try to use the eye of selection and criteria, then some of the garbage becomes the worthwhile information. And of course, to have such eye, we also have to have our keen consciousness to what kind of information we need. It is just like cooking maybe, though I am not sure if we can make any delicious dishes out of such garbage piles, only when and if we have decided to "cook" and only when and if we have decided to "what" to cook, then our eye of selection and criteria can be activated.
But quickly I would also like to add the exceptional case when we cook from such raw data, which is the case of "creative act". As you may have experienced, in the process of creation we sometimes encounter the fact that the product (or rather work of art) has been different from what we expected in the beginning. This is one of differences between making simple (extracted) reports and creating work of art.
Using the metaphor of "cooking", sometimes we are not really aware of "what" to cook in the beginning. But the raw materials themselves can give us a certain motivation or inspiration as to what to cook or create. Materials inspire us. Or more strictly speaking, we might have a kind of unconscious purpose or intention, and then a sort of serendipitous combination of raw materials can inspire our unconsciousness as if the materials themselves could produce their own artwork by themselves.
In fact, when I start writing this today's dairy in describing the call report issue, I have never expected to write about what I am talking about now. The materials in my brain have made this particular context in a serendipitous combination. This is a technique or attitude of "letting go." Of course we should never use this for making call report, but when you want to create something, you should be aware of this powerful force.
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