Gliding / by Alexander Lyadov

“Ah, that’s it! You have to glide in the water, stretching into a string with one hand and clinging to the water with the other to push off of it!” - I thought excitedly when all the elements of the crawl finally came together. And immediately I began to choke less, because each push created a quasi-steadiness for a fraction of a second, just enough time to turn on my side and take a gulp of air. It would seem that two such different environments - liquid and ice - but the principle of movement - gliding - turned out to be common. Each subsequent movement is like picking up the baton handed down by the previous row or push. There is no meaningless loss of energy, because the process does not start from scratch every time. The future uses the momentum of the past effectively.

I know entrepreneurs who, to everyone’s surprise, have launched very different businesses one after the other. But from conversations with them, it was clear that it was the old experience that fertilized the mental black soil for the sprouting of the new initiative. They have a long planning horizon and a clear understanding of the desired future state they want to achieve. Everything they do or that surrounds them now they perceive not literally, but as a potential tool for a consistent approach to the goal. Thus, a skilled woodworker sees not an old oak stump, but a uniquely shaped tabletop for a table that he will sell to an investment banker for a fabulous sum.

And then I wondered what my life would be like if I could get rid of all the extra movement. It’s one thing to start the car by pushing, especially in the mud, but it’s another thing when it rolls itself down a hill. What if every decision, action, mistake and pause made a valuable contribution to the Tao (道), that is, the personal Path? Instead of crawling in defiance of friction, life would be a glide from one exciting possibility to another.

Sincerely yours,

-Alexander


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