What It's All About

As quoted by Ciril Hitz, Department Chair for the International Baking and Pastry Institute at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island - - author of "Baking Artisan Bread".

" Philosophy of Baking:
THE JOURNEY OF BREAD

Remember a time when you were overwhelmed by the beauty of your surroundings. Perhaps it was during a summer hike amid the mountains., or on a walk on a windswept beach beneath an impossibly blue sky. Maybe it was in the middle of a bustling city. Wherever it was, your senses were in overdrive, hungry to absorb all the details of the moment. Most likely there was simply too much at once to remember.
If you visited that place a second time, you probably noticed things that you hadn't before. Perhaps it was the wildflower that took root in the crevice of a rock, or the pattern in the canvas of wet sand left by the pipers, or the shadow cast by a building in the afternoon's waning sunlight. And if you revisited these places several times, or incorporated them into your daily life, the details of the surroundings would become ingrained in you memory. Your experience of the place would be as familiar and comfortable as a well-worn book or a favorite pair of broken-in jeans.
So it is with baking bread: a continuous journey of constant discovery. The first few times you bake bread may be awkward, even intimidating - and that is okay. You can't learn to swim without getting wet, so jump in and get your hands in the dough! One thing is for certain: You will make mistakes. Things will not be perfect. Bread will be burned or under-baked. Shapes may not come out as intended.
As time goes by and your experience increases, you will sense the bigger picture and will grow more in tune with the details. How is the dough feeling? Do you need to hold back a bit on the water? Or add a bit more? Is it proofing faster than the formula indicates? Or does it need to rest a little longer?
Becoming one with the dough takes time, but as you do, your bread baking will become more intuitive. You will make adjustments without agonizing over them. The path you take will become well trodden, each step more familiar and natural. And while there is no such thing as "perfect", practice will get you as close as you can. So embrace the journey and let it begin!"

I'll personally add one last thing...........Can't this apply to just about every aspect of our lives?