Too much force

this idea,
the idea that more
can get done
with less force
and more discrimination

is coming along at the training
i'm going to with my son,
brendan

i'll give the website
tomorrow
or the next
because it's supposed to be a new
zippy version

anyway
some example where given:
in skiing,
when you get good, the
less force you can use,
the better
your skiing will get

in flying a plane,
either you react slow
and light
or thngs get very troubled

and then in parenting:
if you are in a rush,
you "show the kid how,"
which means,
make the child do it
as you do it,
and don't give time
to go slowly,
and gently
and so no
discovery takes place

so,
what is it about force
and the world of today?

well,
look around,
listen:
cars and roads are the dominant force
in our "civilization"

what powers a car:
thousands of explosions a minute

what makes the place
the car can drive,

big machines, tearing up nature
to pave out those roads

we explode the gas,
we pave the world

and we forget
sometimes
the simple
power
of the blade of grass,
pushing itself up
through a crack
in the asphalt

what is the crack in our asphalt
where and
what
is our blade
of grass

maybe
that's what some of these poem
thoughts
are about

hope
so

ciao
chris

Learning by Copying, or Learning by Learning

We can watch
and follow:
monkey see,
monkey do

sometimes
following
someone who does
something really
well
(be happy,
move easily,
listen fully,
laugh at themselves)

can be one
of life's great gifts

and then
again,
if the yoga teacher
is five
times more limber
than we are
and we try to exactly copy
we'll hurt ourselves

if we
move
and just crank along,
following
exercise
or yoga
or the routine we've been assigned
we'll stay in action

but we won't learn

learning
only happens
when we slow down,
and realize and
feel
in our real selves,
a new way of doing or seeing
or feeling something

or thinking
about something
though a
confusion
of thinking and words
and jabber and thinking
and having facts/ numbers and so on
and knowing
is a huge mistake
in much of our lives
(though good for balancing the check book)

back
to learning:
it's a discovery
and un covery
a re covery
a finding
something new
or forgotten

new pieces
falling
together

a big picture
that fits

a new pathway
of moving or feeling
that's easier
and sweetier
and more pleasurable

and natural

this learning
really learning

is sweet
and

this brings
us to the present

this is the present
of learning

without this
life gets
stale
fast