When was the last time you found yourself struggling with a problem?
Did you search out the right tool for the fix? Develop a new tool?
Have you have tried to solve a problem with a tool that wasn't designed for the job?
There is a certain art to jerry-rigging. A proficient craftsman can make use of a wrong tool and produce beautiful results. With proficiency comes agility and innovation.
But what if you are not proficient?
An emerging craftsman attempting to jerry-rig a solution often ends up with a mess. Or at best a solution that quickly unravels.
We often go through our days and weeks jerry-rigging solutions to problems when there are perfectly qualified tools for the job. Tools we can acquire, learn, and master.
As an emerging craftsman in your practice, when we are trying to jerry-rig a solution we should recognize our frustration as a sign that we need to search out and acquire better tools. If we are frustrated, struggling and irritated, then we need to step back and reassess.
Reassess here means to ask for help, open a book, or search out the right tool for the job.
What does jerry-rigging feel like when it is done correctly?
Curiosity, examination and joyous perseverance.
Clarify your practice. Let your practice clarify you.
Showing posts with label trade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trade. Show all posts
Monday, September 26, 2016
Monday, August 8, 2016
Technicians, Artists and Alchemists
Chances are your work falls into one of three categories:
The Technician.
The technician is precise, focused and determined. They are masters of their trade, know the details and the connections. Their depth of understanding is profound and inspiring. Ask a technician a question and he will give you an answer backed with experience and reasoning. Technicians are very straight forward and matter of fact.
The Artist.
Artists are masters of their craft who are generous by nature. They use their trade to make an impact in people's lives. They are visionaries, leaders, ruckus makers. The artist isn't in it for the status or power, they are in it because they see an opportunity to impact change and they are willing to step into the void.
The Alchemist.
Alchemists are enigmatic artists. You find them in strange circles, unfit places, unseemly professions. Alchemists are masters of change and transformation. Their art doesn't make sense to us, often times we don't see it or even believe it to be true. Their art is lived, worked over. They do the same thing day in and day out, perfectly content to keep plodding along, yet timelessly free and relaxed. The enigma of the alchemist doesn't lie within them, it lies within us.
Technicians are too focused on the mechanics of their own practice.
Artists are too focused on the result and ensuing benefit.
Alchemists are free of attachment and the eight worldly concerns. For them, the result is the path.
The Technician.
The technician is precise, focused and determined. They are masters of their trade, know the details and the connections. Their depth of understanding is profound and inspiring. Ask a technician a question and he will give you an answer backed with experience and reasoning. Technicians are very straight forward and matter of fact.
The Artist.
Artists are masters of their craft who are generous by nature. They use their trade to make an impact in people's lives. They are visionaries, leaders, ruckus makers. The artist isn't in it for the status or power, they are in it because they see an opportunity to impact change and they are willing to step into the void.
The Alchemist.
Alchemists are enigmatic artists. You find them in strange circles, unfit places, unseemly professions. Alchemists are masters of change and transformation. Their art doesn't make sense to us, often times we don't see it or even believe it to be true. Their art is lived, worked over. They do the same thing day in and day out, perfectly content to keep plodding along, yet timelessly free and relaxed. The enigma of the alchemist doesn't lie within them, it lies within us.
Technicians are too focused on the mechanics of their own practice.
Artists are too focused on the result and ensuing benefit.
Alchemists are free of attachment and the eight worldly concerns. For them, the result is the path.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Right tool for the job.
I come from a family of craftsmen, men and women who took pride in the skills of their trade and the quality of their work.
Tools are important to the craftsman. They allow him to do the job right, the first time. I was always somewhat resistant to the 'right tool for the job' motto. I would use what was available, what was within reach and figure out how to make it work. Don't have a hammer, use a Crescent wrench. Don't have a saw, give me a screwdriver (yes, a screwdriver). It might take you longer, but you can make it work.
If my father would catch me in these inane acts he would say, "What are you doing? Get the right tool for the job."
"But, I didn't have a hammer."
"Go get one!"
When I moved to Seattle, my father's going away gift was his old red toolbox, complete with JERRY lettered in blue paint across the top. The intention was simple- you should be able to fix your own problems. Use the right tool for the job, and do it right the first time.
I see a lot of people meditating these days, but if you ask them what kind of meditation they are doing they often don't really know.
Meditation is a tool. What are you using it for?
Do you want to achieve a stable, focused mind? Are you looking to develop insight and clarity? Are you simply looking for a respite, a short escape from the turmoil of your daily rigors? Do you simply want a blissful experience with lots of cool feelings and visions?
Do you want to develop generosity, love and kindness? Does your practice embrace a larger scope? Do you want to actualize your own aims? The aims of others? Do you want to achieve the complete and utter awakening of buddhahood?
There are many different types of meditation. Each is a tool in your toolbox. Use the right tool for the job, and do it right the first time.
Maybe my father's message is finally starting to break through.
Tools are important to the craftsman. They allow him to do the job right, the first time. I was always somewhat resistant to the 'right tool for the job' motto. I would use what was available, what was within reach and figure out how to make it work. Don't have a hammer, use a Crescent wrench. Don't have a saw, give me a screwdriver (yes, a screwdriver). It might take you longer, but you can make it work.
If my father would catch me in these inane acts he would say, "What are you doing? Get the right tool for the job."
"But, I didn't have a hammer."
"Go get one!"
When I moved to Seattle, my father's going away gift was his old red toolbox, complete with JERRY lettered in blue paint across the top. The intention was simple- you should be able to fix your own problems. Use the right tool for the job, and do it right the first time.
I see a lot of people meditating these days, but if you ask them what kind of meditation they are doing they often don't really know.
Meditation is a tool. What are you using it for?
Do you want to achieve a stable, focused mind? Are you looking to develop insight and clarity? Are you simply looking for a respite, a short escape from the turmoil of your daily rigors? Do you simply want a blissful experience with lots of cool feelings and visions?
Do you want to develop generosity, love and kindness? Does your practice embrace a larger scope? Do you want to actualize your own aims? The aims of others? Do you want to achieve the complete and utter awakening of buddhahood?
There are many different types of meditation. Each is a tool in your toolbox. Use the right tool for the job, and do it right the first time.
Maybe my father's message is finally starting to break through.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)