Life, just like learning a trade is done in small steps. When a master carpenter first takes up carpentry they are not immediately qualified to work at the level of a master carpenter. They have to go through the stages just like anyone else. They may have some experience at carpentry, and they may be expert at a task or two, but they are a long way from being a master class carpenter. They may be good at using a hammer, but have never used a carving tool or a chisel.
I remember watching a carpentry show about master carpentry in Japan. An apprentice carpenter may be an apprentice twenty or more years before he is allowed to work on a real project. When he is allowed to work on a real project, his work and his masters work are of the same caliber and skill level.
A lesson was given in the show about the difference between a master carpenters plane, and that of an apprentice plane. I thought the apprentice using his plane was doing a fine job until I watched the master carpenter plane off curls of wood thinner than a sheet of paper. The skill of the master was apparent both in the care he took of his tools, and in the quality of his work.
Some of us we have created, or live a right now life style. We want it all right now. For a few this lifestyle works well, but for most it is a struggle both to achieve and to try and maintain. Most give up trying after a short period of time because the energy required is just too great, having it all right now. Like the apprentice carpenter we need to take the time to learn what we need to learn before we move on to the next level of our life. Life is like the story of the blind men and the elephant. We all have hold of a different part of life, and we need to understand that this is likely the perfect place for us right now, even though it is not where someone else who’s life we may envy or want to emulate appears to be at.
Everything happens in its own time and at its own pace. The bigger or more complex our wants, the longer it generally takes to have them fulfilled. There are no shortcuts, and there are no free passes. When we want something, we have to work towards it, and not expect it until such time we are ready for it, and it is ready for us.
A good way to tell if you are doing the right things right is to pause. While you take a break in the flow of your life, decide how you feel at that moment. If you feel contentment and peace, you are on the correct path for you. However if you find you are tense, and are going through one problem, or crisis after another in trying to achieve your goal, it is then time to stop and evaluate what you really want, and how you are really trying to achieve it.
If you find you are struggling to arrive at the life point you have set for yourself, this is an indicator that what you think you want, and what you are doing are at odds with each other. You may have started out going in the right direction with the right intention, but somewhere either what you want, or what you are doing to achieve it have changed. You have to decide what has changed, and what is your real goal.
On the other hand, if you are content, and your life feels comfortable, you are doing the right things right and you should continue doing what you are doing. When what you want in your life is aligned with what you are doing, life flows smoothly. When they are not in alignment, life tends to get a little frustrating sometime.
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