Christian Living
Stuckness Lessons from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Nike
Message Writer
Hire Writer
I’m stuck. Just plain stuck. I know what I want to do, I have a plan for doing it. But I’m having trouble getting started. I just don’t know exactly HOW to start.
I’m stuck!
Well, as I pondered this, I recalled a book I first read over 30 years ago. For over 25 years, it has rested unopened on my bookshelf. I pulled it out today to find this on stuckness. It is taken from Robert Persig’s “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” (pg 272)
“…stuckness, a mental stuckness that accompanies the physical stuckness of whatever it is that you are working on. A screw sticks, for example, on the side cover assembly (of a motorcycle). You check the owner’s manual to see if there might be any special cause for this screw to come off so hard, but all it says is ‘Remove side cover plate’ in that wonderful, terse technical style that never tells you what you want to know. There’s no earlier procedure left undone that might cause the cover screws to stick.
If you’re experienced you’d probably apply a penetrating liquid and an impact driver at this point. If you’re inexperienced and you attach a self-locking pliers wrench to the shank of your screw driver and really twist it hard, a procedure you’ve had success with in the past, but which this time succeeds only in tearing the slot of the screw.
Your mind was already was already thinking ahead to what you would do when the cover plate was off, and so it takes a little time to realize that this irritating minor annoyance of a torn screw slot isn’t just irritating and minor. You’re stuck. Stopped. Terminated. It’s absolutely stopped you from fixing the motorcycle.”
How often do we all find ourselves in situations like this. Some minor annoyance completely terminates our ability to get on with whatever it is we are trying to accomplish. We’re already miles ahead in what we WANT to do, but we simply can’t take the first step. We’re… stuck!
We often find fault in scripture when we can’t find the exact passage to get us started. “I know what has to be done, but I can’t find the words, the justification for taking this action.” Stuck… kaput! Terminated! Can’t finish because we can’t begin!
Ain’t that frustrating… aggravating! I just plain get ticked off when I’m stuck on something like this.
Most of you are familiar with the corporate motto of Nike, the athletic equipment company: “Just do it!”
We get stuck because we have overlooked some of the smallest things, what we call details. And we know “The devil is in the details.”
Far too often, we encounter this stuckness because we look elsewhere for a way to overcome it. Check the manual, call a friend.
Far too often, this stuckness is avoiding our personal, internal responsibilities to get on with things.
So, right now, I’m stuck. I know what I want to do. I know how to do it. I just don’t quite know how to start.
But wait a minute… Where does one start? At the beginning… that seems reasonable.
So, let me start here: “In the beginning, God created… “
Yeah, Art…
Now, get off your duff…
And Just do it!
Shalom,
Art
Alive in The Word
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 712 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Art Schnatterly or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 712 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.