In the Zhuangzi (say "jwahng-dzuh"), Qing (say "ching") carves a bell-stand so fine that everyone who sees it thinks spirits made it. When the marquis asks what art he used, Qing says he's only a workman. Before touching the wood, he fasted to still his mind: after three days he no longer thought about reward or pay, after five he had dropped praise and blame, and after seven he'd forgotten his own body. Only then did he enter the forest. When the right tree appeared, the bell-stand was already there; if it didn't appear, he left the tree alone. Most mornings we carve the first tree we bump into: the answer before the question is finished, the plan for a day nobody has looked at yet. Today, before you start on the next one, the weekend, your kid's mood, take a minute to look at what's actually there and see whether the shape is in it yet.