yourintrinsicself

Practice makes perfect?

No. It does not.

Practice is a practice. Perfection is an unattainable outcome.

Practice makes practice.

Perfection makes false promises.

Extrinsic happiness and intrinsic joy

As the singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette once said, “It's not getting what you want it's wanting what you've got.”

How often do you find happiness in extrinsic ways? Happiness in the achievements or accomplishments or acquisition.

How often do you find joy in intrinsic ways? Appreciating the beauty of that which is before you. Acknowledging the richness of something you've always had. Appreciating the gifts inherent in who you are.

Online and active living

For thousands of years humans have been living actively. For a few years we have been increasingly living via the internet. I am fairly certain I spend more time on email lately than I do walking or exercising, which over time I hope to see tilt in the opposite direction.

How is your balance between online and active living?

Let's take a break from the screen and go for a walk, shall we?

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.

Late to bed and early to rise makes a man crazy and reddens his eyes.

Late to bed and late to rise makes a man hazy and missed the prize.

Early to bed and late to rise makes a man lazy and full of sighs.

Indivisible reality?

I was once told that reality is flawed, because any distance between two points can be divided into an infinite number of smaller distances. Nothing can cross an infinite number of distances, no matter how small, therefore reality is flawed. Supposedly this came from Einstein.

But it's not reality that's flawed, it's mathematics! Math beautifully captures most of reality in some way, but falls short in this particular circumstance. I think Einstein know this well. Let us keep in mind that the map is never actually the territory.

Fear – Courage = Paralysis Courage – Fear = Numbness Fear + Courage = Confidence

Delayed gratification and procrastination

There was a famous research study conducted years ago that involved young children and cookies. If the child could wait with a cookie in front of them, then they got another cookie. Apparently the children who delayed gratification, and thus got an extra cookie, were more successful later in life.

I judge myself to be good at delaying gratification, both by my nature and by my training. But at times this seems to intersect with an adult tendency to procrastinate. Sure one in the hand are better than two in the bush, but what if I believe I have a plan to get the two in the bush? The plan suddenly becomes more attractive than one in the hand, even though it is not yet realized.

Where are you living in plans instead of the present reality?

Reactive and Generative Prosperity

My work on prosperity continues. I was raised to count every dollar and every penny, cut coupons, find deals, and save money at all costs.

My first step away from scarcity was into reactive prosperity. I had enough because I knew how much I had and how much I needed and wanted. I could be generous because I had enough calculated out to be able to give a portion of it.

I'm now exploring what I would call generative prosperity. I have enough because of my faith in my ability to provide, and I give because it is who I am. My generosity is more closely tied to my self-worth than my net-worth, and my giving is more about who I am than what I do. This is still very much a work in progress.

Have you ever lived in scarcity? Where is your prosperity reactive when it could be generative?

Unexplainable Lessons

In the past few years I have learned and grown immensely. Perhaps above all else, the largest steps I've taken toward truth, faith, and peace seem to be the least explainable.

They read like Zen koans. Many fit under the Socratic wisdom of, “They who know they do not know are the wisest among us.”

Where are your profound life lessons leading you to new levels of meaningful uncertainty and unexplainable truth?

Interconnectedness

When you put two items into water, they become somehow more proximate to one another. Imagine two people swimming together; They are somehow more connected than if they were simply standing in a room.

When you put two items into fire, they somehow become more mixed with one another. Imagine placing paper and metal into a fire; They meld into one another as the flame takes them both.

When you bury two items into the earth, they somehow become more a part of the ground together. Imagine two beloved past pets buried in your backyward; They are somehow both parts of the same space.

When you put two items in the same air, they still somehow become more a part of one another! We don't think of it often, but we share air regularly with trees, animals, and other human beings.

Who are you sharing air with today, and how might that bring the two of you closer to one another?