Home

It has been a while since I last used an acronym. It has also been a long while since my last muse. This acronym came to me at a moment where I realized my reaction to a certain situation was not making sense. It transported me to a recent past moment that I’m just getting over. I hear the question coming…so what’s the acronym?

W.H.Y. 

What

Happened

Yesterday?

The lessons of yesterday help to shape our today and tomorrow. If you were to trip on an unevenly paved path yesterday, I’m sure that today you wouldn’t be caught by surprise.

How often do you allow your yesterday to shape your today? Of course there are positives and negatives to each story. Today I’ll focus on the negative, so that I shed more light on the origins of the acronym.

The hurts of yesterday…the let-downs…the doubts…the unanswered questions…of yesterday, can cause one to lash out or overreact to seemingly tiny things. How well do you know yourself to realize when it happens? 

Because I love stories, let me attempt a borrowed one.

Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.

Which one are you?

*****

So what does the story have to do with the beginning of the muse? Well, everywhere we look, we see opportunities to either be an egg, potato or coffee bean.

The boiling water of yesterday, could have made a potato of you. It could have also made an egg of you…seemingly unchanged on the outside but hard on the inside. However, in the boiling water of today, you have the option of being the coffee bean. Stronger and better with each rising degree of heat.  

The hurts of yesterday, can make you love better tomorrow.

The let-downs of yesterday, can make you stand stronger tomorrow. 

So, W.H.Y?

 “The first move toward mastery is always inward – learning who you really are and reconnecting with that innate force” – Robert Greene

This was the ending of last week’s article where I spoke of how a certain performance touched the depths of my soul. What stood out for me above all were two things; the musicians mastery of both instrument and self.

As I sat in the audience, it was enthralling to watch how the instruments were manipulated and all the while, the performers’ composure remained steady. It was even more enthralling to watch and listen to how the audience became engaged as a result of this. Yes I am getting to my point for this week. MASTERY.

Mastering to the point of simplicity (I know I sound like a broken record!)

Mastering to the point of happiness.

Mastering to the point of purpose.

I will keep it short this week.

Recipe for mastery.

1 pinch of awareness

2 bales of discipline

4 bales of persistence

8 bales of practice.

1 pinch of interest

A sprinkle of mentors to your taste.

I am no expert. I’m sure there’s more that can be added to this list. However, observing those who appear to have mastered an aspect of their lives, allows me to put together what I think would be the minimum required for each person on the quest to scale MASTERY.

I am a master.

I am waiting for you to look within to find me.

I reside in you, however, I do get lost in all that is within you.

Allow me to grow.

Allow me to break out of your shell.

Allow me to let you shine.

Dear reader,

I challenge you. I challenge me.

“Become who you are by learning who you are.”
― Robert Greene,  

Who knew that a musical performance could lead down this road!

 

“True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit. What sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” – William Penn

There are many quotes about the power of silence all around us. And I’m not talking about the silence that comes from pouting or from being in a funk. I’m talking about the silence that our Soul needs. The silence that clears the mind. That which allows the Spirit to settle and therefore grow.

In our daily encounters, we meet a lot of noise. Be it from machines, or from human chit chat. Sometimes the noise is productive while at other times, it distracts.

“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees, flowers, grass — grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

I believe that Mother Teresa hit the nail on the head with the quote above. Never have the sounds in a forest been classified as ‘noise’!

What’s my point in saying all this? Let me try a quote…

“Learn to not be afraid when you have nothing to say, because that is when you need to say the least.” – Muse with Nj

 

Do not be afraid of me

I can only help if you let me.

Yours truly,

Silence

When I see a page, I see notations that dance.

The dance of a pen.

 

Flowing to an end that is unknown,

Only to the hand that leads the dancing pen.

 

Frictions and potholes to fix or avoid,

On a road made smooth,

On a road in your mind

That leads the hand

That dances with the pen.

 

Smooth sailing…rough sailing…

Sometimes on canvas

The pen continues to dance

 

Stories come alive

Notations come alive

Creations come to life

All to the dance of the pen.

 

I have no idea what I have written.

I let my pen take the lead.

I let it dance.

 

Parting question dear reader – are you consciously holding your pen? Or you have no idea what your story contains?

What’s armour to you? Is it an impenetrable shell that covers all easy target areas? Is it a mesh that only allows for some passage/flow? Is it large or small? Does it cover you from head to toe? Is it transparent – showing your vulnerabilities? What comes to mind when you hear ‘armour’?

I speak about armour this week because I think they are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they protect you while on the other hand, they keep good from you. Picture this…it is a cold morning but you expect it to warm up, therefore you wear your best shirt/blouse because it brings out your eyes, and then you add a thick coat to keep you warm. As the day wears on, you realise that it will not get warmer and you are destined to hide your great looking shirt/blouse. Now this is a very simple example, however, let’s dwell on it and change it a little. 

You leave the house with a stern face, so that all who meet you will fear you and will not dare to cross your path. However, under the stern face, is a heart that is willing to reach out but has been pinched one too many times. Therefore what does the stern face do? It keeps people away. And everyone with the potential for warmth is also locked out.

Alternatively,

You leave the house with a warmth radiating from within, so that all who meet you will be welcomed by the smile hiding just behind those eyes. You are grateful for  the warmth of the sun, no matter how much reason you have to complain about its intensity. Your heart’s warmth is magnified.

Life has taught us that it is quite unpredictable. And therein lies the greatest joys and sorrows. 

Let me try a poem…it’s been a while..no?

 

Dear you,

I am your protection.

I can grow as high or as thorny as you need me to.

I can be as impenetrable as you need me to

However, I want you to know that in your efforts to protect yourself, 

I can also keep out the good around you.

 

I am your gatekeeper.

I can allow all good and happiness to come in if you ask me to.

All I need is that you trust what you have built in me to protect you.

Sincerely,

Your armour.

 – The trouble with putting armour on is that, while it protects you from pain, it also protects you from pleasure – Celeste Holm

May your week unfold with all the intended good.