Zen and the art of DIY? Why did I select such a name for my blog? The name came from the book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” by Robert M. Pirsig. According to the reliable Wikipedia, the title is an apparent play on the title of the 1948 book, Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. Pirsig said about his book, “It should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist. It’s not very factual on motorcycles.”
Like Pirsig, I did not give any thought to the “Zen” in the name. It was a small attempt to be humorous. However, could there be a Zen element to DIY? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Zen is a state of calm attentiveness in which one’s actions are guided by intuition rather than by conscious effort. Am I making a conscious effort in my DIY projects or am I being guided by intuition? At times it appears that my actions are based on snap judgements. And, I find myself in those situations when my conscious effort has created the problem.
Another definition of Zen is having or showing qualities (such as meditative calmness and an attitude of acceptance. I believe DIYers achieve that meditative calmness and an attitude of acceptance after they complete their project. I know I have. I think of times that I look at my completed projects and actually admire the work. Nonetheless, that Zen moment quickly ends after my only focus changes to those goof-ups only I know of.
Let me address the tag line, “How I’ve learned the hard way every time.”
The definition of wisdom is the soundness of an action or decision with regard to the application of experience, knowledge, and good judgment. A good DIYer is wise. Conversely, when I start a DIY project, I lack (1) the experience, (2) the knowledge and (3) good judgment. Throughout a project there is a lot of “would’ve, could’ve or should’ve.” Not actually Zen moments. In the end, I truly learn the hard way every time. The upside is once I completed a project, I now have (1) the experience and (2) the knowledge, but any good judgment is still nonexistent.
Hopefully this rambling reasoning explains the name of my blog.