I would suggest that we linger in Flow in order to participate in that which is both beautiful and (at times) terrifying. These strong feelings arise not just from the world in which we are engaged (whether it be a rock face or a pile of ancient texts) but also our internal world of strength. This strength is both beautiful and terrifying. Midst these competing and swirling emotions, we find a balance between challenge and support in the threshold of Flow. Within this threshold we often find significant learning (Sanford, 1980). Fundamentally, we are aware and profoundly appreciative of the emotions and attendant learning to be found in the singular Essence of Flow.
The Essence of Diversity
At other times, Essence is found in the appreciation of diversity. I would call this Landscape Appreciation. While Flow is best portrayed as a portrait of someone engaged in a singular activity, the Essence of Diversity is best portrayed as a landscape. As Dwight Jones (2020) (an award-winning photographer) notes, a forest of diverse forms and features cries out to us: “Bring it on!” There are many shapes, movements and forms of light and shade to be found in a forest. A sumptuous feast for the eyes. There is also the diversity of sounds in the forest, as well as many smells. Variable breezes are felt on our skin and there is a variety of adjustments made by the muscles in our body as we walk through the forest. Yes, “bring it on.”
Much like Dwight Jones, one of the primary characters in Isabel Allende’s Portrait in Sepia (2006) finds a landscape of interconnected diversity:
“I was discovering that everything is related, is part of a tightly woven design. What at first view seems to be a tangle of coincidences is in the precise eye of the camera revealed in all its perfect symmetry. Nothing is casual, nothing is banal. Just as in the apparent vegetal chaos of the forest there is a strict relationship of cause and effect–for each tree there are hundreds of birds, for each bird there are thousands of insects, for each insect there are millions of organic particles–so, too, the campesinos at their labors or the family, sheltering from winter inside the house are indispensable parts of a vast fresco.”
For this young person in Allende’s novel, the vibrant, tightly woven design “is often invisible: the eye doesn’t capture it, only the heart.” I would beg to differ a bit. I think that the Essence of Diversity is experienced not only in one’s heart, but also in one’s eyes, ears, nose, skin and muscles. The diversity is brought together in a manner that may create as much Flow as Csikszentmihalyi finds in the active engagement of a rock face or stack of books. This diversity also sets the stage for the ongoing adjustment of baselines, predictions and actions when engaged in the dynamic and requisite process of Polystasis.
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