Practice: How to Get Better at Anything

"The trees on the mountain can be used to build and so are cut down. When fat is added to the fire it consumes itself. Cinnamon can be eaten and so is harvested. The lacquer tree can be used and so is slashed. Everyone knows the usefulness of the useful. But no one knows the usefulness of the useless!" - Chuang Tzu

19 Year Old Pilot James - Feeling Pretty Cool - Somewhere Over the US 

A great thought experiment to run your mind through to help you on goals you are currently working towards is to analyze your prior successes, take what has previously worked for you and apply it to your present situation.

For myself, the best example of this is becoming a pilot. The reason I was able to become a great pilot at a very young age is quite simply because: nobody told me it wasn't possible. My mindset was, "I will do this, no matter what."

State of Mind

"If one is true to one's self and follows its teachings, who need be without a teacher?" - Chuang Tzu

How do you respond to chaos? - Dall·e AI

Your internal state is just as important as the external inputs into your body.  You can eat all the healthy food you want but if your internal state is chaos, you will not be healthy.  Conversely, you can do all of the meditation, yoga, etc. you want but if you're only putting junk food into your body, you will also not be healthy.  The type of food that is eaten is important to the health of your body.  Taking care of your mind and spirit is equally important.  They go hand in hand with each other, yin and yang.

The world we live in is chaos, it always has been and always will be.  You cannot control the chaos that happens in the world.  All you can do is control how you react to it.  The chaos is necessary.  Light cannot exist without the dark, that contrast is needed.  Our world is full of contrast, always has been and always will be.  Trying to control that external chaos is a recipe for misery.  Noticing how that chaos affects you and alchemizing it into something good and something beautiful is something you can control.

Berry Preserves

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." - Maya Angelou

Freshly made berry preserves

Have you ever gone to the store or farmers market and attempted to track down either a no or low sugar berry jam of some sorts?  They don't exist anywhere.  Even at the farmers markets, bounce around to the different fruit stands and ask if they make any no or low sugar berry concoctions and you'll always get the same answer of, "We make that for ourselves and that's what we eat at home but we don't sell it, the sugar preserves it."

Alas, now you can stop hunting and just make it yourself.  Spoiler alert:  It's super easy to make.  Literally anyone can make this in a very short amount of time.  Without further ado, here's how you go about this:

What You Need:

-Edible Berries

-Water

-Saucepan

-Honey or Maple Syrup (optional)