Hand on the Tiller

Reflections on the Challenge

When you notice a situation in a group going off course, cup one ear. Sense your feeling and your part in it.

• Experiences

  L had noticed several instances where, in his view, groups had gone off course. He cited the cover of a Quaker publication supporting Palestine Action as one such moment, observing a perceived contradiction between the group’s pacifist origins and its current stance. He had also reflected on the Artemis mission, feeling that political considerations had overridden adequate preparation.

  T had attended a wake for a fellow artist, held in a venue associated with his life. During the gathering, she had found herself repeatedly cupping her ear in order to hear conversations over loud music, though at the time she had not connected this with the challenge. The following day, she recognised the coincidence and reflected on it. She had observed that, during the wake, conversations had repeatedly moved away from the shared reality of the artist’s death. Although all present were affected by the loss, discussion had drifted towards personal topics, avoiding the immediacy of grief. She had recognised this as an instance of a group going off course, and became aware of the tension between the collective situation and the tendency to turn aside from it. In recalling the event, she had also become more conscious of her own unfinished relationship with the deceased and her response to his absence.

  N had observed changes within his workplace which he felt had been implemented without discussion. He had sensed that the direction of the work might be going off course, particularly in relation to areas he believed could lead to future difficulties. He had raised his concerns with colleagues and engaged in discussion, while also noticing his own position within the situation. Although he had considered leaving, he had decided to remain and observe how matters developed, attempting to make his perspective effective within the group while monitoring whether the direction would prove satisfactory.

  J had described a situation involving collaborators on a project, where feedback passed between individuals had led to a sudden tension within the group. He had recognised that the situation could easily have gone off course at that moment. In handling the exchange, he had become aware of the need for a measured and diplomatic response, and of his own part in how the situation unfolded.

• Responses

  N responded to T’s account of the wake by noting how deeply she had been affected by the loss, and recognising the significance of the situation she described. He also reflected on L’s observation that groups can lose their way, agreeing that organisations may drift from their original purpose unless there is a conscious effort to maintain direction.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  I still hoped for and patiently awaited that time when eventually the corresponding conditions would give me the possibility of actualizing my fundamental aim, namely, the possibility of proceeding with the ‘elucidatory experiments’ on the psyche of the terrestrial beings en masse. But when it became definitely clear to me that here in this community under the existing conditions of reciprocal relationships it would be impossible for me to succeed in this ... I decided to remain there no longer, but to depart, in order to seek suitable conditions for my said aim, to some other European community.

• Discussion

  N drew attention to the phrase “corresponding conditions”, seeing it as central to the passage. He said that Beelzebub recognised that an aim could not be actualised merely by force of will; the right conditions had to exist, otherwise effort would come up against obstacles that could not be overcome directly.

  L linked this to the stages of a process: an idea meets delays and resistance before it can pass into actuality. He suggested that Beelzebub had not abandoned his aim, but had recognised that a different time or place might be needed.

  T noticed that once Beelzebub had decided to leave, others responded by wanting him to stay. She saw this as another barrier, but also as something that may have opened a new possibility: his decision had activated a response in others.

  L suggested that Beelzebub’s decision to leave was met by resistance from others who wished him to stay, and that his eventual response involved a form of compromise, delaying his departure rather than abandoning his aim.

  J observed that the passage concerned the relation between an aim and circumstances. He said that one might agree about the aim, but still have to contend with the circumstances, because these become the real barrier.