Watching people juggle as I got older, I thought I could learn, but never truly focused on it. I was even brought into a show by a street performer on Granville Island in Vancouver, and this guy was juggling six swords. I stared in awe, but then thought 'I could learn to do that.' I mean, not the swords bit - only the juggling - and maybe with three balls to start.
Then a couple weeks ago (four years later), after pondering the topic of concentration, I said to myself, 'Okay, I can do this. I'm going to learn to juggle.' I cracked open a fresh can of Wilson tennis balls, and headed for Youtube, where else? I typed in "Learn How to Juggle," and the first video had a really good thumbnail, so I didn't feel the need to scroll down. "Learn 3 Balls in 10 Mins" it said, and expanded to full screen.
Feeling inspired, I picked up the two Wilsons and followed the instructions from the video, and started to get the pattern down. Ok yes, I realize it's only two, but still felt confident. Now, it was time to move to three. Feeling slightly more nervous, I began following the juggler's lead.
However, it wasn't quite working. I knew what was wrong - I was scared to let go of the third ball. Maybe floating around in my subconscious were the times as a boy when I would get into trouble making dents in the walls at home throwing baseballs or shooting tennis balls with a hockey stick. Gradually, I let go of the third ball more and more even though it flew every which way.
Starting to get the motion, I wanted to diversify my video intake and scroll within Youtube this time, searching for a new video for inspiration. I stopped at the fifth video on the list, and said to myself, 'that guy looks familiar.' Turns out, it was a guy I had met Taipei just two weeks earlier in my apartment at a birthday party for a flatmate. We had exchanged info at the party, and I messaged him right after telling him about learning to juggle, and later thanked him for being one of my teachers. The randomness sometimes found in Taipei is off the charts.
I love the concentration required for juggling. If you try to watch each of the balls in the air, you'll fail because it's happening too fast to keep up. So your eyes are fixed on a point in the air, using your touch and peripheral vision to create and manage a throwing pattern. While you're juggling, you're only focused keeping the balls in the air with rhythm - there aren't any other distractions that inhibit you from doing what you need to do.
More recently, I listened to Siddhartha, the classic novel by Hermann Hesse, on Librivox. If you're not familiar with the story, it's about a man's spiritual journey during the time of Buddha, from the son of a brahmin to leaving home on a journey of self discovery, only to lose his way, and be left with nothing - or so it seems...
After Siddhartha had lost his way due to bad decisions, he reunites with a ferryman that he had encountered previously on his journey, and the ferryman invites Siddhartha to stay with him. Siddhartha learns the art of ferrying and raft building, among other skills, which increase his happiness to levels not seen since he had been a young man. This was due to his perseverance and confidence that led to success in the learning process. And it's the same in learning to juggle.
Juggling has been proven to stimulate neural connections and improve cognitive function related to movement, vision, and focus, according to a study by Oxford University. For me, learning how to juggle and practicing the art has promoted a sense of calmness and deep concentration.
You won't become a zen master or a genius by learning to juggle, but you will have learned an exciting skill that you can enjoy for the rest of your life, bringing you that much more happiness, and propel you into learning new skills. If you already know how to juggle, go for four balls! Or try to best this kid, which is my next challenge!
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