Working Toward Mastery

Nora Ephron’s 2009 movie “Julie & Julia” about master chef Julia Child (played by Meryl Streep) and blogger Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) never fails to captivate me. Each time I watch, I savor the witty dialogue, the juicy food closeups, the main characters’ persistence and loving partnerships with their husbands. Their toil toward mastery seems so relatable — and aspirational. Child discovers her calling in cooking; Powell finds herself while attempting to cook all 524 recipes in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, co-authored by Child.

“You know what I love about cooking?” Julie Powell asks rhetorically after a long, dispiriting day of work. “I love that after a day when nothing is sure, and when I say ‘nothing’ I mean nothing, you can come home and absolutely know that if you add egg yolks to chocolate and sugar and milk, it will get thick. It’s such a comfort.”

Yes, some things are sure. Two years of topsy-turvy pandemic life have not changed the basics of cooking, nor the fundamentals of reading, writing, math, and numerous other skills. That is comforting. But applying the principles may not always be — particularly early on, but even with much experience. At the same time, moving through the learning process is a continuous part of the human experience — we can’t escape learning nor should we.

If constant change is the only thing we can count on in our VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, then learning is the most crucial skill to master. There are no mistakes, just growing out of old patterns and practicing new good habits. And as the movie illustrates, sharing goes along with mastery. So we improve our lives and all the lives we touch. What could be more reassuring?