Preparation and Practice

Everything one does, is preparation and practice for everything one will subsequently do -- and so no matter how badly and tentatively one begins, they get better with persistence.  They don't get better just wishing to do so -- or thinking how to do it perfectly the first time.  It may be that they have no idea of what is really and actually involved -- until they actually manifest that knowledge in action (movement).  Of course it is always easier just to say and think one can -- because it looks so easy when other people do it -- usually because they've prepared and practiced it for many years, that it looks easy and effortless.

To the observer, they may not realize the full extent of what is actually being done -- but looks at the least significant aspect of it, and thinks that is all there is.  This is most obviously true in athletic performances and exercise -- yet all the participants think they are doing the same thing, with obviously different results and competence.  And even the self-proclaimed experts are confounded when reality does not conform to their theories and explanations -- and think they simply need a better theory and explanation, instead of realizing the truth of what is actually happening.

That is true for all arenas and actions -- from personal hygiene to personal finance -- and everything else in between.  For that reason, everybody does not end up with the same results -- and it is no mystery why that is.  A few become masters of what they do -- while many others have no clue as to what is actually being done.  Usually that is because they are not paying attention, being thoughtful and (self-) aware.  They may even think that such things are not possible -- or the primary task of every individual -- but just mindlessly follow the instructions from whomever they think is the "boss," and struggle mightily against such authority at every opportunity they can -- whether for their own good or not.

Often, everything they do, undermines everything they hope to do and accomplish in their lives, and they can never figure it out -- so distracted and mesmerized are they by all the wrong things.  They may be obsessed with the desire to be "rich and famous," but have no idea why that might be so, or what they should do to achieve that fame and fortune.  To them, it is only sufficient to desire to be rich and famous, so when their 15 seconds of fame manifest, they have no idea what to do.  Their opportunity has come and gone -- and they have no idea what happened.

But those who are prepared and have practiced, rise to such occasions -- because that is what their lives have been all about -- not just wishing and hoping that things were other than they actually are.  Whatever they are, and whatever beginning point, one actually has to do something -- no matter how humble that beginning seems.  The lack is always this fundamental lack of understanding and executing the basics -- and not what to do when they are rich and famous. That is not the problem.

So when they are not rich and famous, they still have whatever skills they've practiced and perfected -- and not simply the incessant demand for more -- of what they feel everybody has -- that should be their entitlement, because they "want" it more than everybody else.  That's no way to run a society, or even one's own life.  What each has, is mostly their own doing -- even while resorting to the marketplace to find out who is offering the best exchanges of value for value.  Before money is actually exchanged, the best off, will find out all the information available, and what is available -- rather than simply whatever anyone has to sell -- whether it sufficient, or perfectly fits their needs.  That takes practice in becoming one's own best expert.

That doesn't guarantee a satisfactory outcome, but necessarily gets one closer -- until one gets to that perfect solution, and not simply creating endlessly more problems.  That should be a clue that their solution is not the answer to their troubles, but merely perpetuates the problems, as well as that solution -- someone is invariably selling, as long as they can get away with it.  Once it no longer sells, then they have to come up with another gimmick -- hoping to attract another group of buyers -- who never solve their problem.  And so they learn to live with it, and live that way -- as their answer to all of life's problems.

They never expect to solve any problems of their own living -- and that is the whole point of it all.  Naturally and predictably, everything just gets worse -- and they believe that is the natural consequence of living a long life -- rather than the opportunity of it to make the most of all that time available.  Instead, they find ways to waste their time with endless distractions and diversions -- until they have no idea of whether they are coming or going, and are merely confused at every turn and development.

With what little they have, they don't make the best of it -- but make it even less, or waste it entirely. Nobody helps such people because there's no money to be had from doing so -- and so they have to figure these things out for themselves, which is the only way it can happen.  Those who are dependent on others for these answers, will invariably find that those solutions, benefit the sellers, and not themselves -- unless it can be of mutual benefit.  To eliminate that expensive middle man and derive all the benefits for themselves -- they have to do their own thinking.

And that is the whole point -- they are immeasurably better off for doing so.  That is where we all hope to be -- as much as possible for oneselves.  That is not optional or a luxury only the rich and privileged have -- but is the very foundation of wealth and well-being.  Otherwise, one is constantly at the mercy of others -- despite how much they insist they are doing it for our own good, and nothing is in it for them.

So ultimately, the practice is this awareness -- and not simply what they insist we believe. That is what killed the mainstream media, and all the other intermediaries.  We can go directly to the source.  It is a wonderful new world -- favoring the fearless in finding out what they need to know.  That is a world quite different from those insisting they know all that can be known -- and fit to publish.  Those were the days -- that aren't coming back.