The Butterfly and the Cocoon: On the Desire to Conquer

I see that a challenge students face when struggling with standardised tests is not primarily an intellectual one, it is the deep, urgent desire to somehow conquer the test, as fast as is possible. The same is the expectation from the trainer, not realising that if the butterfly is helped out of the cocoon, instant suffering will be avoided, but for a lifetime of the same.

Takes time for the student to realise this.

I find that the true monk, he or she, knows that turning sachets of knowledge into pearls of wisdom is a lifelong process. Not a sprint to be optimised. Not a milestone to be crossed. And they patiently go about their job. Day in and day out.

So why go after coloured diamonds? What is the hurry? Time is important, and sometimes a test that does not go well may mean a year's delay. But is it a year lost, or gained? And while we are on the subject of time, the universe has successfully existed for over 13 billion years. What, precisely, is the hurry?

The path above can be a stepping stone, seeing urgency as a preference, not a must. Eventually, one can move towards more patience, more process, more trust that the struggle inside the cocoon is not the enemy.

P.S.

If it helps, the very same goes for me. I have chronic OCD. Since I was 17. And it has taken me years — and is still taking time — to learn how to exist with it. To change the natural inclination to somehow conquer it into seeing it as a lifelong process of gradual changes. So, I am no monk. Just another fallible human being. And that is okay.