Tis the season for packages tied up with ribbon and string. There is something charming to a beautiful gift finished with the flourish of an artfully tied bow.
When I made my first attempt at turning a length of ribbon into a bow I just remember feeling my hands and brain couldn’t cooperate to make anything with ease. It was a fumble of slow going mistakes. The results were less than satisfying. Many times I would just toss the tangle into the trash. Thankfully I have friends with floral talents. These folks can make beautiful bows with such speed and agility it looks like a magic trick. Patiently they helped me. They demonstrated this by slowly walking through each step of making the bow. They watched me make my attempts and in real-time guided me and gave me feedback. I can’t tell you how many bows I have tied so many decades later. Perhaps bow-making seems a trivial skill to you however no matter what we seek to learn, modeling and repetition are the two tracks we all must travel on to develop any skill.
As we travel through skill development we also travel though a thought process.
1. Not knowing that you don’t know – “That looks so easy; it can’t be that hard.” Think ice-skating, gymnastics, cooking, tying a bow. Before you even begin you can’t even anticipate what it will take to fully learn the skill.
2. Knowing that you don’t know – “Oh my word, what have I gotten myself into?” “This is harder than I thought it would be.” “I don’t think I can do this!” Friends at this point are key to help pull you through to the next phase if you keep plugging along.
3. Knowing that you know – “Well, that turned out okay.” “I can pull this piece here and that will even out the bow.” At this point, you do have skill but you also still have to actively think through aspects of your skill.
4. Not knowing that you know. – This is where people ask you how you did something and you answer, “I don’t know how I did that.” If you have to slow down and explain what you are doing it almost interferes with your ability. Your skill is developed to the point where you grab a piece of ribbon and the next thing you know a bow is in your hands.
I use this simple bow example to encourage you. Don’t let what you don’t know dissuade you from learning something new. As well, if you’re adept at a skill to the point that even describing how you do it takes effort, find someone to share your skill with.
This past week, I was walking through a garden center and saw an entire rack of pre-tied bows. They weren’t that large and as I saw the price I thought, “Wow. that’s a lot of money for a hand-tied bow.” I walked on by glad for the ability to make it myself.
What skill can you grow in? If you need help wrapping a package up with a bow, I am happy to give a zoom bow tying lesson! Just let me know!
