Operating in the Shallows by John Dowling
I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame. (Psalm 25:2)
Trust has never come easy to me. Like many academically oriented youths, I quickly discovered that taking full control of group projects led to consistently superior outcomes. These growing seeds of skepticism were reinforced by years of service as an auditor, during which my watchwords were “trust but verify.” This, of course, is technospeak for “don’t trust anyone,” with my work surfacing numerous examples of misplaced confidence. Recognizing the pattern, I charted a professional course in which my advancement was not incumbent upon the efforts of others.
In time, I learned that this increasingly ingrained aversion to anything sufficiently challenging to require interpersonal collaboration translates to a vapid existence. It is a recipe for operating in the shallows. Rather, the goodness on this earth lies in uncontrolled experiments with an abundance of independent variables. Things like teaching your children the basics of classroom decorum with full knowledge that compliance with these principles will be imperfect. Or organizing a sprawling community event, the success of which is predicated upon others carrying much of the load. Goodness is taking the resultant stumbles in stride, feeling neither shame nor regret for any shortcomings. It is recognizing that a willingness to endure these difficult moments leads to a fundamentally richer life. A life in which mutual reliance builds human connection. A life in which the unified power of contrasting skillsets allows for those rare, trajectory-altering achievements that overshadow the failed efforts that preceded them.