Beginner's Mind - Zen Mind Series
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."
- Shunryu Suzuki
Today I wanted to touch on the beginner's mind. An empty and ready mind is one that is willing to be open and accepting of everything. The real secret to the arts is to always be beginner. Not only is it a way of opening up and being compassionate in your life, it's also the best way to be nimble and react to your surroundings and the inspiration that unfolds in front of you. New possibilities will materialise and you can adapt to them.
It's easy to get caught up in the mentality of "knowing all" and holding on to previously held beliefs. This is why I wanted to highlight a few tips that have worked for me throughout the last year to try to question my own mentality and unlock new possibilities in my creative work and life in general. I hope that can be helpful for you too.
1. All ideas can be appreciated and considered.
2. Noticing the details of life that are often ignored.
3. Experts do not exist, so best not to be one.
4. Notice the fear of failure and react to it with optimism.
5. Happily encourage signs of weakness so that improvement can be made.
It's not easy and is something that I myself work on daily. Trusting my intuition and curiosity over analysis and any preconceptions that I hold. I hope you have a great day.
This is part of my Zen Mind series, combining my photography with my thoughts on meditation and life. It’s still an experimental project but I hope you will support my work here on Steemit as a writer. Please leave a comment below with your thoughts. 🙂
More from my Zen Mind series:
Movement Without Action
The Ripples in the Water
Please follow me @oen for more interesting art, design and travel content
Cool, I referenced that quote in a post yesterday! The more we learn, the more we realise there is to learn!
Really?? Haha What a coincidence. I didn't see it but I've recently been reading the "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" every morning and it made me want to write a post about it today. Thanks for your comment
It was in the book Shoe Dog, and the author had that quote before one of the chapters (it may well have been at the start of the book) so I included it in my 'snippets'. Shoe Dog was written by Phil Knight, the Founder of Nike and I think he was in to the Eastern philosophies and had read that book, hence the reference. Although, I haven't read Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind myself as yet… I'll have to take a look!
Yeah, it's a great book. Mainly about meditation, but it also has some interesting references to life in general and our way of thinking. Give it a go if you can find it :)
excellent colors and effects! like an abstract painting. congratulations my dear friend
Thanks. Yeah, it was kind of an accident but I really like the way the photograph turned out. The colours especially! Thanks for the nice comment :)
@originalworks
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Well said.
Thanks a lot :)