jon chiang

Like many outdoor recreationalists from Vancouver, the Howe Sound was my first experience of connecting with nature. Living and working at a children's camp gave my the opportunity to learn to rock climb, hike the surrounding parks, and spend time by the water. As with most visitors, the turquoise body of water along the Sea to Sky struck me. 

The inspiration for this film started with a simple question, where does the water come from? Which led to a series of questions: what does our connection to water mean? What about our connection to nature? And our relationship to ourselves?

This question is what is leading us on the journey to the Elaho Range, to the headwaters of the Sound. 

I knew that making a rad adventure film wasn’t enough -- I wanted to learn more about the significance of the area and especially what water means to the Squamish Nation and locals around the area. My hope is that our characters will be able to shed some inspiration, knowledge and stories about their connection with water and the land. 

Through sharing the beauty of where the water comes from and its significance, I hope our audiences can gain a greater appreciation for this beautiful area. 

A few weeks ago, I was telling Lauren how I've been feeling stuck in my work lately. I explained that I haven't been feeling my progress day to day. She said, "maybe you're just making rice?" 

I was confused at first, but realized she was referencing the apprentices in Jiro, Dreams of Sushi. Apprentices may sometimes spend years doing very mundane, basic, work day after day: cleaning, making tamago, mastering how to make rice, then maybe after 5 years they can touch a fish. 

This led me to googling more about the apprenticeship process and coming across the term Shokunin. I had to cross reference the definitions I found with my friend Kai, who then called his mom and asked her as well. We had a great discussion about the deeper meanings of the term.

This is one I found floating around the internet: 

"The Japanese word shokunin is defined by both Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries as ‘craftsman’ or ‘artisan,’ but such a literal description does not fully express the deeper meaning. The Japanese apprentice is taught that shokunin means not only having technical skills, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness. … The shokunin has a social obligation to work his/her best for the general welfare of the people. This obligation is both spiritual and material, in that no matter what it is, the shokunin’s responsibility is to fulfill the requirement."  -- Tasio Odate

I absolutely loved Cal Newports book, So good they can't ignore you. He focuses on the craftsman vs. passion mindset. Cal Newport argues that we should be focusing on honing our skills, instead of trying to figure out what we're passionate about. Being service vs. self focused. 

I feel like Shokunin brings his ideas a step further. What resonated with me was that craftsmanship has a heavy focus on the quality of the skill. Where as Shokunin takes the improvement of skill further, with seeking to improve the social welfare in its communities. It extends the idea of "serving" with an obligation to serve. 

So what?

In last 10 months of freelancing, this past month has been the slowest since beginning full time. With that, my mind descended into a slow flurry: how come new clients aren't coming in? is my work not good enough? was I just getting work on dumb luck? 

In the midst of my panic, I started reading "The Ego is the Enemy" by Ryan Holiday. I found a couple gems in the book: 

"With accomplishment comes a growing pressure to pretend that we know more than we do. To pretend we already know everything...That's the worry and the risk -- thinking that we're set and secure, when in reality understanding and mastery is a fluid, continual process."  -- Ryan Holiday, the ego is the enemy

I've accomplished a few things and what I've risked is thinking that I've actually accomplished more than I have. In this bit of progress, I've felt entitled to having more (ie: more clients, better projects, etc.). When in reality, my expectations are probably out of alignment with my reality.

I can always rely on some Debbie Millman wisdom to put me back into place. As she puts it: 

"The speed in which we expect things to happen for ourselves is unrealistic. Just because we can Tweet about how we feel and potentially have the whole world see it, it doesn’t mean that we could make something that fast and have it have the same kind of meaning that we want it to. And what I’ve found as I’m getting older and older now, that anything worthwhile takes time. Anything worthwhile takes a long time. "  -- Debbie Millman

It's a humbling and encouraging reminder. Definitely watch her whole talk. 

I think I've been grappling with the same issues, just with different appearances. Things like chasing what "success" looks like, managing daily fears , or dealing with imposter syndrome.