On mastery

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Dear Reader,

For a while now, I’ve felt like mastery is not attainable.

When I think of the word “mastery,” what comes to mind is a person who has spent decades honing their craft, perfecting every piece, every subtlety, with absolutely no distraction.

I have never considered the feasibility of attaining such mastery, especially in the time of over-stimulation we’re living in. I never considered it until last night.

I attended a musical festival. While I had gone to see Varsha Thapa, there were 3 other performances. It would be an understatement to say that they were remarkable. The way these artists interacted with their musical instruments to make music was nothing less than magical. Varsha, for example, only performed with her guitar and raw voice, yet to imitate her performance, it would take a studio at least multiple weeks. That is mastery.

I wonder, then, where my octopus-arms interest will take me. I’m influenced and inspired often by the possibility of every route. While it is true that my variety of interests has led me to get pretty good at multiple things, I wouldn’t be confident enough to say that I’m one of the best at one particular thing.

I’ve repeatedly chosen breadth over depth.

“How do I get over that?”

That part I still have to figure out, but I know that realization is the beginning of change.

I’ll see you next week.

Warmly,
Suraj

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