…you can see all things clearly.
– Miyamoto Musashi, believed by many to be the greatest samurai who ever lived
My teacher and friend Felix said this to me in a Ayahuasca ceremony recently but the depth of it didn’t hit me until these last few days.
On the weekend, I picked up a book of short stories written in Spanish and started to read.
That’s when it hit me.
I could read it, without translating it into English as I went. I could read like a native… the same way I read English 🤓
Now, to be fair…
It’s a relatively simple book that’s written for Spanish learners (A2/B1)… and I’m not saying I understood every single word…
…but I understood 80-90% of it from the get-go and I knew exactly what was happening in the story.
It gave me such a thrill to be able to read in Spanish, especially since I wouldn’t have had a clue how to do it last year.
How did I do it?
No surprises here… and nothing particularly sexy:
Just consistent daily practice with a good course (StoryLearning w/ Olly Richards), flash cards and 2 lessons a week with Eliana, my Peruvian Spanish teacher.
After I finished a chapter of the Spanish book, I thought back to the quote from Miyamoto Musashi:
When you can see one thing clearly, you can see all things clearly 👀
Writing this out now… it feel rather trite and basic… but it really was a groundbreaking moment for me. A holy shit moment.
That becoming proficient in Spanish is as simple as showing up, practicing well and being patient.
And that this applies to every single thing that exists:
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
- Lifting weights
- Learning to play the guitar (or sing)
- Beating anxiety, depression, insomnia, imposter syndrome, and negative thoughts
- Regulating your nervous system and unleashing the beast inside you
Whatever you want, you can have it… you don’t need magic bullets or hacks or 7 step formulas. You just have to show up, practice intelliegently and be patient.
I know, it’s simple.
And it’s nothing you haven’t heard before.
But when you have an experience that confirms the idea for you, man… it takes on a whole new life.
One word for it is embodiment.
It’s one thing to know something in your mind. That you can learn anything if you sit yourself down and practice. Anyone who’s ever read a self-help book can tell you that.
It’s another thing entirely when you experience the reality of it, especially when it happens with something that previously seemed unattainable.
You’ve taken something from the mind and embodied it.
Anyway, with that in mind…
I’ll leave you with a question for today:
What’s one thing that you can see clearly and how can you use that clarity to see other things clearly?
Cheers,
John Wood
P.S. Know anyone who has trouble seeing clearly, whether it’s with their anxiety or depression, learning languages or other cars on the road?
Refer them to The Daily Growl (this email newsletter) and give them a better way to see and understand themselves (and their nervous system)… and watch as they bloom before your eyes.