Do you remember when you learned to drive? I can remember it just like yesterday because I was so worried about crashing. The driving inspector kept telling me to behave like I was “master of my ship”, even though I felt like a a navvy. At 16 yrs old I got my license and a week later crashed my mother’s car.
Today I had my first go at driving our ride-on mower. Daniel and Rick had made mowing look so simple. But I found it was like juggling gears in my mother’s manual car: I had to manage brakes, accelerator, reverse, stay mounted without a seatbelt and be able to adjust the blades. I found out while descending 30 degree slopes that an 80 kg weight has more gravitas than a 50 kg weakling. The worst part was that the lawns ended up looking like they’ve been in the hands of a junior haircutter.
When I first learned yoga, I was a total klutz. After a grueling two hour class, I swore that if I could still walk up the stairs to the studio the next day, I would be back for another round.
Malcolm Gladwell, who wrote “The Outliers”, said that to be a master you need to invest 10,000 hours in learning. I certainly put my licks into yoga practice and teaching.
The brand-name of our ride-on is “Lawn Boss”. In my efforts today I was propelled back into feelings of high school flunkiness. But that’s not the end of story. The Boss and I will have another go tomorrow.