The Inner and the Outer
Oct. 21st, 2011 02:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cedar_groveFrom The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have.
There is no expected pace for inner learning. What we need to learn comes when we need it, no matter how old or young, no matter how many times we have to start over, no matter how many times we have to learn the same lesson. We fall down as many times as we need to, to learn how to fall and get up
I think this is something I need to remember, something that will help me to avoid getting mired in frustration when I seem to be going at a 'one step forward, two steps back' kind of pace with any number of things. I suppose its something that as adults we all need to remember from time to time, and not just in matters spiritual.
You look at a child trying to master something, (especially if it's a new game or something) and they will try and try and try again, as adults perhaps we don't have that kind of persistence – whether that's through a lack of patience, or the attitude instilled in us that we 'don't have time to waste' doing things over and over again, but we stop trying in very short order some of us. There are some things I will do this with – like computer games. I'll only try so many times before frustration starts to set in and once that happens I might as well forget making any progress past the problem because I'm horrible at such things when I'm frustrated. I'm horrible at anything when I'm frustrated.
There are other things I'll persist at to the point where someone else has to tell me to stop and take a break because I'm worrying at them constantly, and getting nowhere – we each have our thresholds I suppose.
I know that there are things I need to apply this to at the moment in terms of self and development, but right now, the outer is of slightly greater import than the inner.
Repetition is not failure.
Ask the waves, ask the leaves, ask the wind.
There is no expected pace for inner learning. What we need to learn comes when we need it, no matter how old or young, no matter how many times we have to start over, no matter how many times we have to learn the same lesson. We fall down as many times as we need to, to learn how to fall and get up
I think this is something I need to remember, something that will help me to avoid getting mired in frustration when I seem to be going at a 'one step forward, two steps back' kind of pace with any number of things. I suppose its something that as adults we all need to remember from time to time, and not just in matters spiritual.
You look at a child trying to master something, (especially if it's a new game or something) and they will try and try and try again, as adults perhaps we don't have that kind of persistence – whether that's through a lack of patience, or the attitude instilled in us that we 'don't have time to waste' doing things over and over again, but we stop trying in very short order some of us. There are some things I will do this with – like computer games. I'll only try so many times before frustration starts to set in and once that happens I might as well forget making any progress past the problem because I'm horrible at such things when I'm frustrated. I'm horrible at anything when I'm frustrated.
There are other things I'll persist at to the point where someone else has to tell me to stop and take a break because I'm worrying at them constantly, and getting nowhere – we each have our thresholds I suppose.
I know that there are things I need to apply this to at the moment in terms of self and development, but right now, the outer is of slightly greater import than the inner.
