What did I learn today? As I finish up today (Monday night as I write this), I just read another book within Meditations. What I've learned about myself by reading the book very methodically and deliberately (coming up on 2 months soon) is that everyone goes at their own pace. I set out a goal of wanting to read a book / month. That's a very arbitrary number. But going over 2 months, reading only a few pages every (other) day to let the content sink in has been relaxing. Sometimes I feel the urge to rush through it so that I can have the vanity of finishing a book. So that I can get to the dozens of other books that are waiting for me on my bookshelf. But I'm learning so deeply and reflecting on it. Isn't that what we hope for when reading, especially something as profound as this? [3 min] Hmm. By going deeper on one book or one area or one subject, does it actually allow me to go even deeper more quickly on future topics / hobbies / activities / areas? By connecting viscerally to every page that I read, I'm building the imprint of deep connection. So that every subsequent time I do it, it becomes easier and more natural. But it's that addiction to chess growing up that allowed me to be adept at it. It greased the wheels for geography. Going deep into other subjects that were the center of an addiction. But that practice of addiction allows me to be decent at many things. I actually think that's part of the reason why I can be approachable to others yet not intimidating. I'm good at a lot of things but I'm not sure if I'm great at anything.
Chess - sure I won state but I'm no master - not even close. Geography - 3rd at state but not the best in the country. Harmonium - pretty solid but never the best at the regional level at Sai centers. Tennis - varsity in high school but never good enough to make it to state. Ping pong - best in the office and maybe at home but not at the university level. Singing - good enough and improving to get a few hundred YouTube subs but no one's confusing me for a professionally trained singer. I'm casually better than most in these areas but nowhere near an actual master / professional. But I think that's my advantage. If I can get to a point where I'm 75th percentile in an area, that means I can speak from experience to some level. And if I have enough experiences, the creativity and horizon of opportunity infinitely expands. I can draw on those memories of learning and action to have my next great idea blitzes. By experiencing reading a book so deliberately, I can speak from experience how much I learned compared to if I had just read it for sake of completing a book in a month. I gain the experience through the process, not the destination.
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