[BIFFS vol. 2] Work as trace

Reframing “work” as a process of embodied intention not only inverts the relationship between process and output (and makes us question why that relationship ever seemed hierarchical in the first place) but also forces us to prioritize the things that make process more enjoyable, true, delightful and meaningful.

Over the past few years, I’ve read many books about creativity, and it’s made me realize the sad truth that most people don’t read books on creativity. And so “to be creative” in the mainstream view is limited to making visual art or music or other artifacts. But when you read books on creativity, you discover a whole process that kindles a lot of ... See more

In the midst of the unfolding crisis with work – a fundamentally spiritual problem – it seems to me that we desperately need new cultural metaphors to describe labour. What, actually, is this thing called “work”? Why do we do it? What does it afford us? What can’t it afford us?

For now, I find solace in the metaphor of work as trace. In a world whe... See more

I’ve recently been exploring the metaphor of work as trace – that it isn’t so much about what we put out into the world as how we put it out; that the thing we really ought to care about, the thing that ultimately matters, is the intention from which the work emerges. The rest is all mirror, representation, resemblance.