The Mind Behind the Bow
Rea,
Have you ever known exactly what to do, but felt too nervous to do it? Like when you’ve studied hard for a test, but as soon as you see the questions, your mind goes blank?
I’d like to tell you a Zen story that talks exactly about this idea. It’s about a champion archer who traveled across the country to challenge a Zen master known for his archery skills. When they met at the master’s mountain temple, the archer went first. He notched an arrow, drew his bow with perfect form, and hit the target dead center. Then, to show his incredible skill, he fired a second arrow that split his first arrow right down the middle!
The Zen master nodded quietly, then beckoned the archer to follow him. They climbed up a steep mountain path until they reached a cliff edge. There, extending out over a deep valley, was an old wooden ladder. The wind whistled through the rungs, making the ladder sway gently.
The master calmly stepped onto the ladder. Despite the height and the swaying, his movements were smooth and controlled. He drew his bow and fired a simple, clean shot at a tree - nothing fancy, just straight and true.
Then he turned to the champion archer and gestured for him to do the same. The archer stepped onto the first rung. Immediately, his confident smile disappeared. The ladder creaked. His hands started trembling. His heart raced. He could feel the wind pulling at his clothes. He couldn’t even draw his bow, let alone aim. After a moment, he carefully stepped back onto solid ground.
The master smiled gently and said: “You have mastered the bow, but not the mind that shoots it.”
This story resonated with me because I’ve experienced this so many times in my own life. Often, I know exactly what I need to do, but when stress kicks in, it’s like my mind narrows and I can’t access those skills. It’s like having a toolbox full of tools but being too shaky to use them.
That’s why at the highest levels of sports, athletes spend almost as much time training their minds as their bodies. They work with sports psychologists to learn techniques like deep breathing and visualization. They know that in order for them to apply the skills they have they’re going to need to have the calm mind. And they practice the skills that enable them to reorient in the middle of confusion and fear and calmly do what they already know to do.
Can you think of a time in a test or a performance when things got confusing but you were able to calm down and figure out what to do and you got it right? Now imagine if that was a strength that you practiced. What would it look like to be able to calm yourself down and do that in more situations? Wouldn’t that be cool to be confident in your ability to calm yourself when you’re upset, stressed, or scared?
Love, Abba
