Just Keep at It

The more I try out new activities, the more convinced I am that consistency is the key to mastering just about anything. The most recent example is my attempt at the Tibetan Singing Bowl which I bought from Leh (disclaimer: not a master yet, but en route). I am a fan of sound baths and was excited to get my hands on the tools that can take me on the journey on demand. Of course, there are a lot of free sound bath sessions available online, but the sound from this bowl…I made that!

The bowl comes with a mallet that has to be tapped on the rim of the bowl to kickstart the ringing and then pressed and moved in a circular motion along the rim to keep the sound going. Mine is a small bowl and the internet tells me that it can produce a sustained high-pitched ringing for about 30 seconds. I could manage about 15-20 seconds. A tap on the rim in the middle of the process can help.

Sometimes I start off really well and attain the high-pitched ringing as soon as I start. The ones I get right at the first tap…those are clear winners! I have to, of course, keep at it and continue the circular motion to sustain the ringing. That consistent movement of my arms to keep the ringing going…well, that’s not the consistency that caught me by surprise.

During the initial days of practice, I considered the attempts that did not start well and led to high-pitched ringing in under 5-10 seconds as failed attempts. But apparently, that is not the case. And that’s the surprise!

Here’s the deal. Even if the attempt starts at a low pitch, the bowl can gradually increase the frequency if the continuous circular motion is maintained. That is - as long as you keep going, the bowl will do its work irrespective of how it all began. 

Let me reiterate - irrespective of how it all began. Period.

Let that sink in.

Now all my attempts are winners, as long as I am ready to tirelessly move my arm. It can take up to 30-40 seconds to just get the ball rolling. And I have to keep at it to sustain the beauty. It’s a good thing that I love it. Hopefully, my arms will “embrace” it too.

To be honest, well begun is not half done. Well begun is just that…well begun. It can go either way. Both the well begun and the “blah begun” can come out winners. 

Here is some math to make things…umm…intense? 

To achieve excellence in work that is worth X units of effort, I had to spend:
i) at least X units of effort to get the ball rolling (i.e. to attain the high-pitched sound)
ii) another X to maintain the excellence (i.e. to maintain the high-pitched sound)
iii) and then account for all the failed attempts at excellence - an average of 0.5X per attempt (i.e. hmph…let’s not go there)
You choose the number of failed attempts. 
The final conclusion being: To achieve excellence in work that is worth X units of effort, I had to actually put in 2.5X units of the effort - at the least. 

Hence, proved.