Trust in emergence.

Brené Brown uses the phrase "trust in emergence" when she refers to her work as a qualitative researcher. It goes against certain traditional notions that one starts with a hypothesis and then runs rigorous tests to prove or disprove the hypothesis. The idea of emergence is that among all the data gathered—the conversations, the stories, the experiences—themes and patterns will emerge. The emergence will be a revelation of sorts, where a new thesis can be inferred and shared.

How can emergence show up in one's life?

I have often stopped myself from pursuing something I am interested in because I have higher priorities to tackle. If an activity is not aligned with a set of goals or purpose, it would not get attention. There was a rigidity to the approach, a focusedness and determination that a straight path was the quickest and most effective path to meeting a goal.

A problem arises when a goal is not entirely measurable, when it does not follow the SMART principle. This is especially true of larger life goals. Among mine are to be a well-respected musician who collaborates with people I admire and who admire me; to be an elder who can offer wisdom and guidance, and who is sought after for how he can help people in my community; and to reach certain financial milestones. These are big goals, and the path to them cannot be effectively charted in their entirety. We can set smaller goals in service to larger goals, but ultimately the road of life shifts, and we experience unexpected twists and turns that will invalidate our map.

I have found myself excitedly fixated on a couple of habits. One of them is this blog. I am not sending these posts to folks via Substack nor monetizing them in any way. I am not becoming a famous writer with these daily musings. But I am pursuing something I've always wanted to pursue, which is to be a writer, even in this humble sense. I am pursuing what has been a nagging urge to write and share my thoughts. While it may not map one-to-one with a specific life goal, I am trusting in what will emerge from these posts.

Another fixation has been daily or near-daily study of whatever I wish to remember via Anki. Indeed, this post was inspired by the fact that I noted this phrase "trust in emergence" and placed it into my Anki deck as a phrase I wanted to remember. I have had this persistent desire to learn and remember many things, and there have been many times I've been frustrated to have forgotten information. Places I visited in Peru, the altitudes of the mountains, the meanings of various acronyms, the titles of colleagues at work, the dosages of various medicines, cool phrases, you name it. If I want to remember it, it goes into the deck.

I am trusting that good will emerge from these new practices. So far, I have seen the sharpening and strengthening of my mind, where I am able to bring more interesting subjects and information to conversations to be more engaging and relatable to others. I have been able to refer to some of my posts in conversation, now their own manifest data entries where my ideas live.

I have thought of these practices as similar to working out. My exercise routine lately has been very regular, with nearly daily cardio and strength training. I have seen a massive change in my physical body, general energy, and overall strength. It's also nice for my fitness to be noticed by others, especially by friends who have seen me 40 lbs heavier. I see the rigorous training of my physical body as age insurance, a means of extending my healthspan and overall quality of life. I see the daily writing and study as similar practices that ensure the long-term health and development of my intellectual body.

In the book Zen and the Art of Archery, the zen master informs his then-prospective, eager student that zen cannot be learned directly. It must be learned through a medium. His medium was archery.

Perhaps zen follows a principle of emergence. It emerges out of a practice, out of a discipline. It cannot be dug up. It can only emerge in the right conditions.