parenting, gardening, pursuit

In some of the best pursuits, the reward you earn is more of the pursuit. It’s worthwhile to experiment with different pursuits to find one (maybe more than one, if you're curious and lucky) that meets this criterion. It’s also worthwhile to look at your current pursuits and ask yourself which of them is already of this kind but hiding from you inside the popular ideology of achievement. 

The mindset of a race - set distance, surrounding competitors, goal time - can blind you to the satisfaction of this kind of pursuit, satisfaction that may be available to you right now. A thought experiment: think ahead, beyond the current deadline or goal. Imagine you meet the goal. Now imagine a private moment that follows this goal. In that moment, you’re not basking in the recent achievement; you’re not anxiously anticipating the next achievement. You’re peacefully assigning yourself more of what you have just done. You’re grateful for this thing you get to do.   

Gardening has been a good teacher for me in this. Raising kids can be a great teacher in this. In both, when things go well, there is growth, there are seasons, there are thrilling thresholds. And. So long as you’re alive, the pursuit does not cease. Doing it well last season means you get another season. Cleaning your plate leads to second and third and four thousandth helpings. 

-eric