It’s usually not difficult to find parallels between different areas of life and also between different types of skills.
For instance, in drawing, it’s important to have experience with a range of techniques and know something about what you are drawing, even if you are drawing from life. If I draw a human being, it’s important to know anatomy and have experience drawing a range of bodies in a range of positions and movements. It’s equally or more important to follow what I see, to not let what I know override what I am actually seeing. And over time and with experience, it’s important to allow my own individual flavor to come through, to draw in a way that resonates with me and feels authentic to me.
It’s similar with inquiry. It’s important to know the skill and technique, and have familiarity with a range of different types of inquiries and topics of inquiry. It’s equally important to follow what’s here and not let what I know from the past override what’s actually here. And over time and with experience, it’s important to find some fluidity with it all and follow what’s most true for me.
Drawing: One of my quick practice sketches from my early/mid-twenties.