What do I know?

Agreed I know some things. I know other people know things. We all do, but they are different things. This is when it starts to get fascinating.

The funny thing is that one person can’t assess the quantity of what another person knows. Why? Because you can’t look in their brains and you do not have access to their private password to subject their inners to investigation and do some prying. Which is a good thing. Each person’s private thoughts and experiences are their own.

It’s good to realize that you do NOT know everything too. If you did there would be no room for exploration. Why would you want to do anything as after all, you already know everything. It sounds so mundane to me. Would God be bored to bits? She’s probably having so many laughs up there.

I think that one of my charming qualities is the fact I confess openly about not knowing everything. There. That’s the secret. Confess, get the word out and there’s no need to impress, convince or hide inabilities. Not that it would matter anyway, because HOW you do something and WHY is really only important to you isn’t it? If I get pressured or forced by other people into learning something because they think I should for one reason or another I can get annoyed. I can dig my heels in. It’s not the best of traits. If I see the valid point in learning something I’m very happy to get going. I’m self motivated but it has to make sense to me in order to do it.

Some things I do know about (ask me about crop circles, I used to be an expert on the things, back in the days before it became a hype) and I know nothing at all about piloting planes or how to make a roast (Nico’s department which cracks up the neighbors).

So getting to the Knowing; is that about information in your brain or about how you do things? Is it the experience or the theory that creates The Know. Personally I vote for experience. I mean you can read about the technicalities of driving a racecar but it wouldn’t give you a clue about what the experience can be like and how you keep the car on the track does it? The Knowing is in the Doing. It’s literally Know-How.

What I’m learning at the moment is learning how to swim Freestyle (in Dutch: borst crawl). Apparently this type of swimming is taught to kids at school in New Zealand. In the Netherlands this isn’t the case for the basics. When I was a child there were the levels, A, B, and C. You guessed it: I managed to get the basic A and that was it. There were horrifying teachers and I hated every moment of it. If I enjoy anything I will do well. When I don’t enjoy something I do average and either improve it or accept this. Most people work that way I’m sure, picture screaming kids who are dragged to piano lessons and so on and so forth. I don’t like accepting average though. I get a bit funny that way.

Yes I can do an absolute brilliant job thank God. When I’m motivated and have a bit of a knack for it. With the swimming I start to feel I actually belong in that water instead of being thrown in and making the best of it. The lifeguard was very friendly explaining the sideways breathing. Once I stop taking in as much water as I do air it will be more fun. For now, I’m learning and gaining experience. And sticking with it because it’s becoming fun instead of a struggle.

In order to improve Knowledge and Experience one has to be motivated. It’s easier to learn if the subject interests you. Have you thought about why it’s easier for you to learn tai chi then it is to play chess? It may be a shame to not get past the barrier and give up before hand. Decide whether the goal is worth wrestling through the ‘hard stages’ for. If all fails then at least you know you’ve tried and you can make it into a good story