No one learns anything while being inside their comfort zone.
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. The noon mass was packed to standing room only. At halfway through the mass, the priests placed ashes on everyone's foreheads. When the last person had gotten his ashes, I looked around the church. It was more than half-empty. For most people on this day, the appearance of keeping their faith is good enough. As long as it looks like they are practicing their faith, people are content.
The day before Ash Wednesday, Samantha mentioned to me that she wanted to learn Kung Fu. It got us talking about the purpose of learning a martial art. If the purpose of a martial art is to overcome an opponent, then a martial art is only a stepping stone. When you learn a martial art, you are borrowing someone else's techniques. It is only after leaving that art to develop your own way of overcoming an opponent will you actually be "learning" how to defend yourself.
Bruce Lee received instructions in Wu Shu when he first practiced martial art, but he didn't really learn about his art until he developed Jeet Kune Do. Obviously, not all students who take up Wu Shu will go on to develop their own fighting system. However, unless a student knows his own strengths and weaknesses, he will never be able to apply what he learned to real life situations. As long as he stays inside the Wu Shu fighting system, he is inside a comfort zone that has everything spells out for him. No need to think. Just memorize and regurgitate.
Of course this principle does not limit itself to just martial art, but to all types of learning. I have already convinced myself to think outside the Western medicine box...AND preparing myself to be outside the TCM box in the near future.
Similarly, if a Catholic does everything the church tells him to do, then he hadn't learned anything about God. All he had done is to stay inside the comfort confine of the church teaching. All he had done is to color within the lines. Until he questions why the lines are drawn the way they are drawn will he start to learn about God.
Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. The noon mass was packed to standing room only. At halfway through the mass, the priests placed ashes on everyone's foreheads. When the last person had gotten his ashes, I looked around the church. It was more than half-empty. For most people on this day, the appearance of keeping their faith is good enough. As long as it looks like they are practicing their faith, people are content.
The day before Ash Wednesday, Samantha mentioned to me that she wanted to learn Kung Fu. It got us talking about the purpose of learning a martial art. If the purpose of a martial art is to overcome an opponent, then a martial art is only a stepping stone. When you learn a martial art, you are borrowing someone else's techniques. It is only after leaving that art to develop your own way of overcoming an opponent will you actually be "learning" how to defend yourself.
Bruce Lee received instructions in Wu Shu when he first practiced martial art, but he didn't really learn about his art until he developed Jeet Kune Do. Obviously, not all students who take up Wu Shu will go on to develop their own fighting system. However, unless a student knows his own strengths and weaknesses, he will never be able to apply what he learned to real life situations. As long as he stays inside the Wu Shu fighting system, he is inside a comfort zone that has everything spells out for him. No need to think. Just memorize and regurgitate.
Of course this principle does not limit itself to just martial art, but to all types of learning. I have already convinced myself to think outside the Western medicine box...AND preparing myself to be outside the TCM box in the near future.
Similarly, if a Catholic does everything the church tells him to do, then he hadn't learned anything about God. All he had done is to stay inside the comfort confine of the church teaching. All he had done is to color within the lines. Until he questions why the lines are drawn the way they are drawn will he start to learn about God.
No comments:
Post a Comment