An artisan preparing stones!

I watched this artisan at work for over a week in the property below us, where a neighbour is getting ready to build his new home. 

His work is to get the stones in good shape and size to build the foundation for the house. He worked unmindful of the drizzle. He was contracted to do it and was therefore  keen to finish his work to move on to another job. 

What caught may attention was his intense concentration on his job. 

In a conversation he told me three things which impressed me most. He has to make the stones to match with each other. That is the way he can make the work of the mason easier. He has to plan the size of each stone. He wants them to be similar sizes. Thirdly, he was determined to cut the stones with even surface.  He had a design and plan in his mind. I wondered how he can get all these three correct! In that half an hour I watch him, what he did matched with his plan and design. 

I recalled my responsibilities in the past where I was responsible for designing and planning! I am not sure whether I had clear outcomes while designing and planning. 

I had an occasion to reflect on this yesterday. A colleague who is in touch with a few who showed an interest in joining our team told me at the end of conversations with them that they showed an interest because of what they have heard about the work we do in the department. It is what we do or how we do express the extent of plan and design we have in mind. 

A young consultant who is struggling with some issues at work feel exasperated at the way plans and designs are made for personal success or financial gain.

The artisan at work was making plans and designs for making the building aesthetic and robust. He had the interest of the owner and the users of the house in his mind. 

On my way back after talking to the mason, I saw this custard apple in the tree in our garden. I noticed how neatly the shell looked as if it was designed to be so! 

Any work we do needs to carry an exquisite finish that speaks of the attention we gave to the process of planning and designing. 

At the end of seven years of the Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology at MOSC, we looked at what we have been enabled to do. This ended in creating a web page at the MOSC website, which summarised our journey thus far. All of us in the department felt surprised that we have arrived where we are at the end of seven years!

I feel overwhelmed by all those who planned and designed the journey, those who are in the team now and those who were here with us before!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)