We have all seen people speak or perform when it’s apparent that they’ve done this same piece the same way dozens of times. The voice finds a certain cadence and they anticipate specific audience reactions. There is a filter between themselves and the audience. They are watching themselves perform. These folks are practiced.
They get the job done, more or less, but they don’t have enough distance from their work to view it objectively. They do their piece the same way every time, and they get nice comments afterwards, so it’s fine. And yeah, maybe it’s fine.
But what you can create, what waits on the other side of practiced, is present. And this is so much more interesting, and contains so much more possibility, than fine.
The way you get to present is through such familiarity with your content that you don’t have to think about it. There is no part of you that is wondering what you’ll say next; you are riding the wave of your intention and practice, and they are going to carry you to the shore of present.
