Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Indoctrination.......Practice makes perfect, no perfect practice makes perfect.

Years ago while watching a martial artist perform I remarked to my sensei how good he was at his kicks. Sensei then states, " No he's not, just watch him carefully". "Ah you are right, he telegraphs his kicks". Sensei then says, "Yes and he's perfect at it". The point he was trying to make is that we can even practice mistakes and get very good at them.
As human beings we all seem to have our own views or perceptions about the world and how it functions. Most of us developed these while we were younger and very impressionable. They typically were given to us by the people closest to us, and unfortunately many of these views have had negative outcomes in our lives. Body image, self esteem, spiritual beliefs, trust, the list goes on. In a sense we were indoctrinated into someone else's perception of the world. I know for myself I learned very early that the world was combative. You had to be tough, fight for yourself, and make sure no one saw your weakness. Unfortunately for years I practiced that belief system and became good at it. It has been a long process of re-training myself but I have slowly become better at another view of the world. One that is more loving, more supportive and friendly. I still hope to one day perfect that belief.

Im curious fellow bloggers, what are you good at?