Mastery is a Road…

“Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans.” –John Lennon

Hard to believe. I came here (Tokyo, Japan) four years ago today, September 5th, 2003.

It seems like another lifetime since I boarded that plane from Seattle, bound for a future I could hardly imagine. I have had my share of joys and successes, as well as setbacks and failures. My life has not turned out the way I thought it would in many ways. That is both a source of relief and disappointment. But I am grateful for the lessons I have learned, and optimistic about the challenges and opportunities ahead.

From a broad enough perspective, even the most random events seem to fit a pattern–destiny, luck, or chaos–in the end, these are all just names we give it.

I’ve said before that I believe things happen for a reason. (But I don’t necessarily mean there is some grand design or that we are products of fate or some invisible hand that controls us. I guess it is hard to explain.) I’m not sure if it’s true. In the end, no one really knows, and it probably doesn’t matter anyway. We make the best choices we can, with the information and skills we have at the time. Somehow, we find a way to keep going, and both “positive” and “negative” results follow. It’s only later that we sort out the confusion and understand how our past has led us to this moment.

We usually think that what truly matters is the result. But that isn’t true. What truly matters is the journey. Living. Enjoying. Experiencing. Even suffering. It might sound corny, but is true: Mastery is a road; not a destination. I once had a great teacher who told me that. And the more I live, the more I realize it is true.

For my loyal readers, who have continued to check this site despite the fact that I have not updated it for weeks, I want to thank you for your patience. I am sorry the time got away from me. I had a couple issues this last month that kept me busy. I will write more about that later. And to be honest, I needed some time away. I wanted to write something, but every time I thought about it, I knew it would just come off forced and insincere. A few of my friends have quit blogging. I thought about hanging it up myself. I may in fact do that at some point in the future. But I realize that I have a little more that I want to say. I do think that it is time to change the focus of this blog a little. I will write more about that later, as well.