Day 11.216 ....is Mastery

In light of yesterday's treatise on how to achieve, I had to offer an addendum, an amendment of sorts.

Evidently it wasn't good enough on its own, so I, in a haze of hubris, had to embellish. Previously I have been accused of excess in this area. I do abuse my freedom of speech at times and for this I beg your pardon.

The premise was from Erich Fromm, taken rather rudely, from his published thoughts on what he labeled the art of love. I am deeply interested in both parts of this whole. To see neither the art part nor hear the love dove is, well, something Kurt Vonnegut might call a fate worse than death. Like wanting the knowledge of the yin without the wisdom of the yang. We learn the lessons of the hot directly from the cold. I guess the science of love would be a fascinating topic as would the politics or economies of it, but that is missing today's point.

Which is, making it work for us.

Mr Fromm's hypothesis was that there are two vital elements involved with the mastery of subject, any subject. First one must master the theories of it, be it carpentry, brain surgery, rocket science, music, food preparation or hitting a baseball. Secondly is the practice of it until an acceptable form of proficiency is obtained. This we call mastery.

My add-on was this:

That illumination, enlightenment, happens NOW, as compared to the paradox of the physical part of mastery, which IS a process and can sometimes take a lifetime. Or two.

That in order to endure the relentless distractions that bombard us on a daily basis, we must steel our consciousness to an equally relentless ability to stay focused and present. Aye, the old here and now.

The need for positive thinking popped up as if on cue from Norman V. Peale.

And lastly something we have long labeled the three L's; Live, love and learn. Those should be self-explanatory.

I brought them up this morning in spin class because I feel that they are helpful when the pilgrim, student or beginner takes that crucial first step in the direction of mastery. It is a long, dusty road. Us silly humans are prone to getting lost.

Unlike enlightenment, all this will take time. We need patience. The only way you are going to lose thirty pounds today is by hooking up a fat sucking IV or cutting off a leg. You will not be ready to compete for an Olympic gold medal simply by adding one gear to your resistance setting for ten seconds.

But taken together, the here, now, living, loving, learning, with positive thinking and happiness on that path, we trudge one step closer. That is the theory. As well as the practice.

And that, dear friends, is mastery.