I’ve run into a dead end with my Life Architecture project. My idea was that by making small, incremental changes to the structures of your life, you would arrive at a more satisfying everyday experience and better outcomes overall.
Along the way I’ve come up with a workable methodology. But the results don’t seem any better than any type of life hack. In fact, some of the daily routines I developed using my “life architecture” process now feel overwhelming and unpleasant.
And I’m at a loss what to try next.
The Value of Being Stuck
In Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Robert Pirsig notes that being stuck isn’t entirely a bad thing. Practitioners of Zen Buddhism go to great lengths to get themselves stuck, sometimes using koans, or riddles, to arrive at a mental end of the road beyond rational thought.
Your mind is empty, you have “beginner’s mind.” You’re right at the front end of the train of knowledge, at the track of reality itself. Consider, for a change, that this is a moment to be not feared but cultivated. If your mind is truly, profoundly stuck, then you may be much better off than when it was loaded with ideas.
Robert Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
I’m not sure where to go next with all of this. And maybe that’s the best place I can be.
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