Kevin Monisit

me irl

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

Shunryo Suzuki

Take eating breakfast, for example:

You start by seeing the activity of eating with fresh eyes, as if you don’t know what to expect, as if you hadn’t done it thousands of times already. You really look at the food, the bowl, the spoon, and try to see the details that you might not normally notice. You truly notice the textures, tastes, smells, sights of the food, pay close attention as if you don’t already know how the food will taste. Everything seems new, perhaps even full of wonder. You don’t take anything for granted, and appreciate every bite as a gift. It’s temporary, fleeting, and precious.

As you can see, this practice of beginner’s mind transforms the activity.

Leo Babauta

When you are a true beginner, your mind is empty and open. You’re willing to learn and consider all pieces of information, like a child discovering something for the first time. As you develop knowledge and expertise, however, your mind naturally becomes more closed. You tend to think, “I already know how to do this” and you become less open to new information.

James Clear

I really like this approach to life. For example, I'm always curious about someone from another country who speaks another language. I'm like a five year old---easily in awe.

There's one word that I learned in Chinese which is lao shu. I know that in Chinese there are different tones that can change the meaning of a word. When I met someone from Taiwan, I asked him what lao shu meant. He said mouse. Then, like a toddler, I changed the tone of "shu"---playing around with it. The meaning went from "mouse" to "teacher" to "old tree." This blew my mind. It was so fun to discover the language with someone else. To them, it may be oridinary. To me, it's mind-bending.

I start some of my Spanish lessons by singing a Spanish song that I discovered, hoping they'd know it. Often, they are happy and surprised that I discovered some song they wouldn't expect me to be listening to (like Rayando El Sol or something by Jose María Napoleón). I usually keep a list of Mexican slang and cultural facts that I learned throughout the week as I listen to podcasts, and ask them for their reaction. Again, to them, this is ordinary life. But, for me, it's so so so interesting. I'm like a toddler discovering the world. When I use super Mexican idioms, they're usually surprised and happy about my appreciation of their culture. I may not be using it correctly, but making them laugh and smile is what matters.

This perspective can be extrapolated into everything in everyday life. Everyone I meet is someone I can learn from. I've known my parents for 20+ years, yet I still continue to ask them about their culture, how to say certain phrases in their language, and so on. They never bore me. There's probably so much more that I still don't know about them. I just need the right questions to ask.

Fun! :) Try it! Be utterly curious about something or about someone, and ask away!

Zen/Doaism Philosophy Readings:

Also my favorite book, Tao of Pooh, looks at this in a similar way

s-tier libro right here

Beginner's Mind