The beginner’s mind — on experimentation and self-expression
Shoshin 初心 ‘beginner’s mind’
In a world of linear ideas of living, we’re often warned to be careful not to keep changing what we do, for fear of it making us look scattered or indecisive, un-knowing of ourselves or lost. And yet, joyful exploration is the heart of creativity and self-expression.
‘Jack of all trades, master of none, though oftentimes better than a master of one’ — did you know the full phrase ends in this way? Often, we hear it uttered as ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, a shortened version that leaves much to be desired when we we are feeling a lack of this idea of mastery in our day to day lives. Yet the full phrase is so much more allowing of multidisciplinary thinking and experiments in trying new things.
In a series of interviews with other creatives, one of the questions I offer is ‘What is one small step that created the momentum for something bigger?’ Often, these momentum giving small steps are created when we try new things, when we follow threads of curiosity without judgement and see where they lead.
A concept from Zen Buddhism, Shoshin is the idea of the ‘beginner’s mind’, introduced to Western audiences by Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki.
In Japan we have the phrase, "Shoshin," which means "beginner's mind." Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few. — Shunryu Suzuki
Used especially to refer to studying, shoshin’s idea of holding openness, eagerness and lack of preconception is one that resonates through so much of life and how we approach it.
The true purpose is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes. — Shunryu Suzuki
Shoshin — approaching life with a beginners mind
Although Shoshin can be implemented as a guiding principle in many ways, there are two ways this really shows up for me:
1. Seeking newness
In an act of alignment, a journal prompt by Wilde House Paper arrived in my inbox last week, asking ‘When was the last time you did something for the first time?’
It’s easy to stay within parameters of comfort, to stick to what we know and rarely venture beyond it. It can be terrifying to try something new, and to accept that we may not be instantly ‘good’ at it, or know ‘enough’, even if it is just a small step outside of a field we are used to. But when we are open to newness, from trying something for the first time to seeingsomething anew, a world of possibility is made visible to us.
This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner — Shunryu Suzuki
2. Seeing newness
At its core of Shoshin the idea of seeing in new ways, of shedding what we think we know so that we can be open to all that we don’t. As Suzuki says, ‘In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.’ The beginner’s mind is the child’s mind, a lens of play and wonder.
In creative practices, this may be a gentle return to foundational knowledge — in painting, perhaps colour theory or mark making — because when we come back to the ‘beginning’, the core practices can help us to see our work anew, or reveal new paths to follow that would not have been visible if we had not been open to the possibility.
There’s something gently liberating about the idea of the beginner’s mind, a removal of the expectation we place on ourselves to know everything (an impossible task!) and to show up just as we are, as students in our field figuring things out through play and experimentation.
This Autumn, I am gently embodying Shoshin, approaching my creative practice with a childlike sense of wonder and joy, learning new techniques and gently challenging myself beyond the safe circle I have become used to creating within. It’s not without moments of fear or self-doubt, but already I am looking back on the end of summer with the perspective on where I’m at now, seeing the power in newness and making sure to stay open to it.
