Reflections on Mastery

The Myth of Mastery

I have been contemplating my tendency to want to be a master at certain things — a tendency toward wanting to improve at things. This tendency causes me to focus on the future rather than the present, on the destination rather than the journey. I want to explore: What is this thought pattern? Why is it here? What are the assumptions I am not questioning?

The reason I question this pattern is because it takes joy away from my experience. It is not a pattern I would like to continue, because it robs the fun out of things and just doesn’t feel good.

I noticed the tendency to want to be great at things — to be a master at what I do. When climbing, I think about being a really strong climber. When listening to music, I think about Flume and how he is a master at music, and how I want to be that good at music. When I practice calisthenics, I think about being a master at calisthenics movements. It is this craving to be somewhere else which gets in the way of true play. This craving to be somewhere else robs joy out of the activities themselves, in a way. The activity becomes a means to an end rather than an end in itself. It turns the activity into “work” rather than play. Play is what I am here to do.

Is There Really an End?

The funny thing is that no one really experiences the outcome; rather, they experience the journey. So then, why are so many thoughts about where I want to go?

It is this fundamental assumption that the mind makes: When I finally get xyz, then I will be happy. It is an assumption that in the future I will finally be satisfied. It is an old trick indeed.

It keeps one focused on becoming rather than being. The funny thing is that one can simply be, right here, right now, already. There isn’t a destination one needs to reach to simply be.

Is any path really about a destination? Will anything fundamental really change upon arrival to said destination? Or will the goalposts continue to shift without end?
Why is it always about getting somewhere? What will be different when you arrive?

Anything that changes externally, or on the surface, won’t be a deep change. The internal feeling of becoming will stay. This feeling of wanting to be somewhere else will stay, regardless of how skilled one becomes. And if it goes away, one will stop practicing altogether anyway.

So maybe it’s more about how you feel on the journey and what you learn instead of where you end up. Maybe where you end up is irrelevant and out of your control.
This journey of life is eternal and doesn’t end until you kick the bucket.
Why, then, do I put so much attention on this “end”? In doing so, I reject the present and feel resistance toward this moment. The feeling of resistance toward this moment is a sort of self-harm.

What if it’s not about the end, but rather the process — the journey itself?
What if the underlying assumption that you are doing this for something else is false? What if nothing you do is _for_anything else? What if nothing you do has an ulterior motive to it?

Isn’t that play? Play is when you do something that has no ulterior motive.

If you do things without an ulterior motive, won’t you just not get anything done?
Maybe what is needed is to integrate both goal and play to create a harmonious union — a play with direction.

Maybe that is how we build. We may have a goal, yet we play without attachment to that goal. We hold it lightly, as a direction and not a destination. Maybe we don’t have a goal, but rather a direction.

We trust our direction. Our trusting is a letting go, allowing us to play freely.

What Is a Master Anyway? What Is Mastery?

What if mastery is more a journey than a destination?
What if there is no such thing as mastery, but rather one walking the path of mastery?
What does that path look like? What does it feel like?

Is a master about reaching some point, or rather about the continual challenge — the continual challenging of oneself?

And truly, when I think of mastery, I think of play at the highest level.

The master sculptor doesn’t impose their will onto the block of stone, wood, or clay. Instead, they listen. They ask the block, “What do you want to become?” And they help it to become that. It is a listening.

They know not how they do it. If they knew how, then everyone would be a genius. But they are a master — a genius — because what they do cannot simply be figured out or repeated. It is in this way that the master lets go and lets their hands, feet, or whatever medium they are using do the work. They act without an actor.

Flowing With the Path

Maybe mastery is about enjoying the beauty and uniqueness of your own path. It's less about effort and imposition and more about listening and flowing with. The more I let go of becoming, the more I become. The more I stop trying to be a master, the more mastery expresses itself through me.

Unfiltered Thoughts

Mastery
What is mastery
What do I want to be a master with

conversation with Zale
he thinks a master is someone who practices and improves upon their craft each and every day.
to him, a master is engaged while performing their craft.
we discussed the resistance to not being where you "want" to be. i thought about that being due to denial of your current skill level. the fixed thinking. the doubt of reaching the goal.

the funny thing is that no one really experiences the outcome, rather, they experience the journey. what if mastery is more a journey than a destination? what if there is no such thing as a mastery, but rather one walking the path of mastery? what does that path look like? what does it feel like?

we discussed having a destination without attachment towards reaching it. im not sure i totally agree actually. who am i to know what destination i should or shouldnt go for? i think each perspective can be valid. its about following one's own personal calling, and for each of us that is a unique calling.

i continue to think about mastery
i continually aspire to be a master, yet this aspiration takes me from the joy of the practice itself, of the journey. after all, life is made up of the journey and not the destination. nothing fundamental will change even when i have become very skilled at a craft
i think my WHY needs to be bigger. WHY do you want this? Do you actually love it? or are you forcing? What are your gifts that you truly want to give to the world?

What is the change you truly want to make in the world?

your mastery doesnt necessarily have to be a craft. dont limit it to that. it can be a metaphysical skill. it can be so many things. it can be a combination of things, an emergent property. it can be a meta skill.

doubt creeps in, doubting
there are many assumptions here taken for granted
why are so many thoughts about where i want to go?
is this path really about a destination?
can i really be sure about getting there?
is there even a there? or will the goalposts just keep shifting?
will anything fundamental really change upon arrival to said destination?
maybe its about how you feel on the journey and what you learn instead of where you end up
this journey is eternal and endless, so there really is no end
why then, do i put so much attention on this "end"
in doing so, i reject the present and feel resistance

what if its not about the end, but rather the process, the journey itself
what if i trust the higher intelligence and let it flow through me

why is it always about getting somewhere? what will be different when you arrive? can you be there now?

what does the true master do? play
Mastery

Composition of a piece
any composition needs structure