Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great

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No matter how badly things go or how poorly your day turns out, you’ve always got one thing you did right—you made your bed.

We humans are unhappy in large part because we are insatiable; after working hard to get what we want, we routinely lose interest in the object of our desire. Rather than feeling satisfied, we feel a bit bored, and in response to this boredom, we go on to form new, even grander desires.” This life is but a vapor; we are here today and gone tomorrow. Do not waste your life.” ~ Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf

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Many of us think that once we achieve some future state – enlightenment, financial independence, the top of the mountain, etc. – we will finally be content. But the truth is that none of these destinations will bring lasting contentment. One day he was told to take some tea to the Abbot in his chambers. He did so and the Abbot saw he looked sad and asked him why. The Abbot gestured to the scrolls on shelves lining the walls. He said, ‘When I started I was like you. Every day I would chop wood and carry water. Like you I understood that someone had to do these things, but like you I wanted to move forward. Eventually I did. I read all of the scrolls, I met with Kings and and gave council. I became the Abbot. Now, I understand that the key to everything is that everything is chopping wood and carrying water, and that if one does everything mindfully then it is all the same.'”

Learn how to think about and build new and better habits that will guide you through life in a meaningful way. There are signs, but sings are not signs, therefore they are signs. It is the essence of Diamond sutra. Enlightened being continues to do the same activities in after Enlightenment - but the perception of reality is drastically different. Since Zen is all about Yogacara, elaboration of that is conveyed in Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma sutras that are essential parts of this school. Everything you do, or don’t do, matters. You’re either building a beautiful house or you’re bounding yourself to leave on the street. The choice is yours. He was putting himself under so much pressure. He wanted to shorten the time needed to achieve mastery. Nowadays, we actually refer to this mental state as the imposter syndrome. A collection of feelings that convince us that despite our past achievements, we’re still not good enough.

Or as the author writes, “Everyone wants to be great, until it’s time to do what greatness requires.” The young boy had been neglecting the pony he was supposed to care for, and Mr. Roberts wanted to teach the boy that he had to be responsible for the welfare of those in his care. In an article titled I Built a 4-Hour Workweek…What Do I Do Now?Nat Eliason shared that he was able to build a mostly passive online business that enabled him to become financially independent:

When you set goals without a mission, it’s highly unlikely that you will achieve them without getting distracted.Often when we pursue things we want, we enter a “flow” state, which Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes as: I appreciate what this book is trying to do. But it doesn't work for me. Endless typos and grammatical errors in this edition. As someone who knows quite a bit about Buddhist teachings (you know, for a non-practicing American) I found this dull, disquieting, and in some cases, distasteful. This is a confusing book which allows a modern day American boy to attend a 10-year long Samurai archery school (why, who knows?) and uses sports, pop-culture, and Buddhist references to teach him discipline. While I appreciate that the author is trying to make these concepts accessible to Americans, it just doesn't work. It comes across as ignorant and offensive. I would have rather read the boring business book version of this same text instead of this fictionalized American-Learns-From-Japanese-Master story. I'm also confused by the combination of Christian and Buddhist mythologies. That’s how you beet discouragement and you keep moving forward with your projects. By substituting self-destructing thoughts with whispers of faith in your abilities. Life lessons help us understand with a deeper insight or meaning that helps us in life and guides us to being who we are supposed to be. Through learning opportunities and real insight moments, you can convert the “chopped wood” into real wisdom or life lessons. 7 Important Chop Wood, Carry Water Life Lessons One of my teachers, the great Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, has spoken of the importance of doing menial tasks with mindfulness. He uses all manner of examples for this, but my favorite is teeth brushing:

I once tweeted out that if you have the freedom to spend time doing these two things each day, you have everything you need in life: My own “ chop wood, carry water” moment came when I took up horse riding. I was a stressed 20-something and getting on the tall horse at the riding school was a challenge. It relates to the essential Mahayana teaching Diamond Sutra and Heart Sutra refer to. Teaching about the nature of signs and conceptual appearances coming from mind and eventually, transcending the dualistic nature of mind.Some of the tips inside aren’t groundbreaking, yes. But they will definitely help you in the process of becoming great. In times when things are hard, when you struggle, and when you want to quit.