The Law of Poise

Put together on purpose — her inside and her outside agree, so nothing spills.

1. 01Calm and in full possession of herself
2. 02Put together — assembled deliberately, not accidentally
3. 03Settled in mind, unhurried under pressure
4. 04Free of agitation; peace-loving rather than passive
5. 05Firm and bound, holding its own shape
6. 06Measured — nothing said or spent in excess
7. 07Sound of mind; thinking clearly while others react
8. 08Written and arranged, as a piece of music is composed
9. 09Unflustered by interruption or opposition
10. 10Self-assured without needing to be loud
11. 11Contented — wanting nothing she does not have yet
12. 12Deep-rooted, staid, hard to move

To put on — to bring what is inside up to the surface where it can be seen.

1. 01To show plainly; to make evident
2. 02To reveal the presence of a quality one holds
3. 03To bring an inward thing to outward view
4. 04To display by bearing rather than by argument
5. 05To indicate clearly, without insisting
6. 06To manifest a feeling or a strength
7. 07To give outward sign of inward substance
8. 08To betoken — to be the sign of a greater thing
9. 09To exhibit as a natural consequence of what one is
10. 10To lift the instrument to the lips before the note is played

The arrangement of many parts into one sound — what she has been given to work with.

1. 01The arrangement of parts so they sound as one
2. 02The scoring of a work for many voices
3. 03Careful organization of separate elements toward one effect
4. 04The plan behind a performance
5. 05Coordination of people, timing and resource
6. 06The blending of different strengths without loss of any
7. 07Management of a whole so no part is wasted
8. 08The structure that lets a thing be repeated beautifully
9. 09Design of sequence — what enters, and when
10. 10The harmony that results when order is obeyed

Presence that governs a room without raising its voice — panoptic, covering all that is relevant.

1. 01Having authority that is recognized on sight
2. 02Panoptic — seeing all that is relevant at once
3. 03Ministerial: authority exercised as service
4. 04Legitimate; the rightful owner of the position
5. 05Queenly and civil, pleasing while it rules
6. 06Deep-down expecting — assuming increase as normal
7. 07Overmastering; reigning in control of itself first
8. 08Decisive, determining outcomes rather than awaiting them
9. 09In a more favorable position, with a wide view
10. 10Trustworthy, pledged, untainted in dealing
11. 11Imposing and stately without being severe
12. 12Confident in her own abilities, and therefore influential

To play the instrument — the breath leaves her and becomes a gift the hearer keeps.

1. 01To furnish with a gift or a quality
2. 02To provide with a lasting means of support
3. 03To invest another with an ability they did not have
4. 04To settle wealth or blessing upon someone
5. 05To equip permanently rather than temporarily
6. 06To leave something behind in the one who received it
7. 07To confer dignity or standing
8. 08To supply from one's own fullness
9. 09To establish a fund that keeps giving after the giver leaves
10. 10To grant naturally, as a trait is granted at birth

The one who arranges all things — she is now the office, not the guest.

1. 01One who arranges many parts into one work
2. 02The person responsible for how a whole sounds
3. 03A coordinator of people, timing and resource
4. 04One who assigns each voice its part
5. 05The author of the arrangement, not merely a player in it
6. 06A conductor of separate efforts toward one end
7. 07One who makes cooperation possible
8. 08A planner whose plan can be executed by others
9. 09The keeper of tempo for a household or a company
10. 10One who is answerable for the harmony of the whole

Many parts moving on purpose in one direction — decided, planned, tried and true.

1. 01Done by mutual agreement, arranged beforehand
2. 02Planned and decided rather than improvised
3. 03Tried and true — proven by repetition
4. 04Judicious; weighed and measured before moving
5. 05Integrated, complementary, interchangeable in strength
6. 06Set in step; moving from the same direction
7. 07Aligned and undivided, free of internal conflict
8. 08Confirmed and ordained — settled as policy
9. 09Attuned, in tune with all the other parts
10. 10Root-plumb: straight down to the foundation
11. 11Pioneering yet supportable, forefront yet accountable
12. 12Compiled — many efforts gathered into one present work

To make it actually happen — the thing is no longer claimed or performed, it is proven.

1. 01To prove; to serve as proof of a thing
2. 02To make a claim undeniable by result
3. 03To bear witness through outcome, not testimony
4. 04To establish a matter as fact
5. 05To leave a trace that can be examined
6. 06To demonstrate by record and by fruit
7. 07To substantiate what was once only stated
8. 08To show clearly enough to settle the question
9. 09To attest — to stand behind a thing with one's name
10. 10To produce what argument could not

Her own arrangements, many of them — houses, offers and rhythms that play without her.

1. 01Many arranged works, each complete in itself
2. 02Repeatable systems that run without their author present
3. 03A body of arrangements bearing one signature
4. 04Multiple ventures held in one harmony
5. 05Scored works that others may perform
6. 06Owned structures rather than borrowed ones
7. 07The accumulated proof of a governing mind
8. 08Estate: order that outlives the one who ordered it
9. 09Portfolios of coordinated effort
10. 10Legacy arrangements — inheritance in the form of order