True beauty could only be discovered by one who mentally completed the incomplete. The virility of life and art lay in its possibilities for growth.
(Kakuzo Okakura) 

Total disclosure

Modern times are awash with information revealing the most intimate details about total strangers. The internet and lifestyle magazines gossip endlessly about people's private lives.

There are countless TV programs dedicated to exploring personal tragedy and humiliation... Honesty is fine. But not everything that could be said needs to be said.

It can be advantageous to cultivate a little mystique, and have some privacy.

Martial arts

In a martial arts class, there is usually a syllabus and a grading structure in place. Students are led through the curriculum, accumulating insights and skills as they progress.

Periodically, their knowledge, competence and understanding is tested.

As they climb up the syllabus, more information is revealed and the student makes connections and associations without the need for as much explicit tuition.

The material feels more significant and the student eventually begins to glimpse the true nature of the art. They cultivate a comprehension that no new starter could share.

"You are under an illusion," said the master after a while, "If you imagine that even a rough understanding of these dark connections would help you. These are processes which are beyond the reach of understanding. Do not forget that even in nature there are correspondences which cannot be understood, and yet are so real that we have grown accustomed to them, just as if they could not be any different."
(Eugen Herrigel)