Being Top Gun

I once heard a teenager argue for his way. Like most young men he wanted freedom and according to him freedom meant doing it his way.

He used in justification the independent and winning spirit played by Tom Cruise in Top Gun. The pilots in that movie certainly liked to assert their independence. however, is it really a good illustration/ After all, know one hand s over a20 million dollar jet to self willed teenager? A pilot goes through hours of merciless military disciple and training and when, and only when, his skills are honed though controlled and structured training is he allowed behind the controls.
It is the same with a great musician. Hours of training, refining and practice have gone on by. A young musician at first weighs heavily on every note, then every second note, then every forth, until after years of practice the accent begins a phrase and then wings effortlessly note to note until a new accented phrase begins.
We in our independent world often look at the results of free thinkers and forget the years of hard work that have gone before.
One can think of the eclectic style of Picasso, and forget that he could also 'draw like an angel' = he chose his unique approach. He had sufficient skill to be able to let his expressive talents free reign.
Few overnight successes succeed over night. According to Prof. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi people who excel at achievement while being in the zone have usually refined a skill for over a decade. Perhaps some have developed the skill in an unrelated profession, even at home, but they have refined a skill.
Yet once refined, this skill has the capacity to enhance happiness, creativity, human fulfillment the state of "flow" - a state of heightened focus and immersion in activities such as art, play and work.
"When we are involved in [creativity], we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life" says Professor Csikszentmihalyi.
One can think of Paramahansa Yogananda’s “The Noble New” from Songs of the Soul. clearly, to attain the meditative skills of this master, one must develop great skills, and yet, disciplined as he and his disciples were, he calls out an octet in two quatrains

"Sing songs that none have sung,
Think thoughts that ne’er in brain have rung,
Walk in paths that none have trod,
Weep tears that none have shed for God,
Give peace to all to whom none other gave,
Claim him your own who's everywhere disclaimed.
Love all with love that none have felt, and brave
The battle of life with strength unchained.

Paramhansa Yogananda, 1893 - 1952

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