"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few."  ~ Shunryu Suziki, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

I don’t love crossword puzzles in general, but I do the New York Times mini-crossword everyday. I love it! It’s little, it’s timed, and it makes me think. One of the first things I noticed about myself when I started doing them on the daily during Covid was that my mind tended to lock in and lock down on what I think an answer should be. To change my mind about that was nearly impossible. I could almost feel the answer I had running a rut through my brain, digging a deeper and deeper thought trench until I couldn’t get out. 

Here’s an example: “What do you mean the answer isn’t ‘fresh'? It’s gotta be ‘fresh.’ That’s the only five letter word for ‘new!’...Oh–I see. ‘Novel.’ Yeah, that works too.”

This, to me, feels like an expert mind. I thought I absolutely knew it, but I didn’t. Surely the Times had it wrong this week! Had I come to th...

I was recently giving my indoor plants some TLC, which had me looking at Georgia's amazing growth, and there was a little surprise waiting for me.  (Georgia is the fiddle fig tree that appears in all my online videos.) Since I received her back in 2020, she has had two sticks and a post to support her and help her stay standing.  I went to check these support sticks, and realized they were completely loose and unnecessary! I don't know when she made the transition from wobbly to strong, but there she is, able to hold herself high. 

I know tons of slow and tedious growth happens while we think there's nothing going on, but this seemed like a lot. It got me thinking, where else have I experienced growth that was so slow and quiet it went unnoticed?  Where can I let go of some unneeded support that was once a helpful crutch but is no longer necessary?

I see this happen all the time in yoga classes.  Students who, when they started yoga, needed a block to reach the floor in triangl...