A post I saw on another magic board.
Psychic Ash
Thought I would share.
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Apologies for the misleading post title - I'm not suggesting a forum
cull!
I came across the following Zen story on the internet, and it struck a
chord for me:
A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question: "I'd
like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to
learning from you, I'd like to study with another teacher in order to
learn another style. What do you think of this idea?
"The hunter who chases two rabbits" answered the master "catches
neither one".
This spoke volumes to me!
As a serious hobbyist of three or more years, I realised a number of
things that help explain my stagnation with magic:
1. I rarely go hunting these days as I want to find out first about
where the biggest and best rabbits are.
2. New improved rabbits are appearing all the time...
3. I spend too much time concentrating on how to be the consummate
hunter to the detriment of going out hunting and learning how to be a
better hunter.
4. I'm devoting way too much time to chasing rabbits such that I've
got to the stage of simply standing in the field and waiting to see
what rabbits appear, rather than honing my skills as a hunter.
5. The biggest bestest gun does not guarantee the sweetest meat when
tasted...
Etc. Etc.
Enough analogies already!
What I'm trying to convey is the curse of the serious hobbyist.
We spend too much time looking for the best...(whatever - effect/
handling/context/style/presentation/patter etc.), that we don't devote
enough time to making our magic magical.
We chase rabbits rather than become hunters.
I know this is a somewhat strange post - let's see where it goes...