Priority

My master wrote an article about making training a part of your lifestyle. So that it is never something that you have to get around to because it is a part of your daily chores. It is tricky when you have the world trying to convince you that what you do is a "hobby". A hobby implies that it is something that I should do when I am killing time. Meaning that I have finished all of the important tasks in my day and now I can practice my kung fu or dance or whatever your hobby is. The truth is that your hobby is probably more important for your life than your job. So many become so obsessed with trying to promote themselves in their job or in school that they lose track of the things that actually matter. In fact for many people what you do on the side might be the only thing that gives you any real sense of purpose. What happens when you set that aside and become only your work? You begin to sacrifice the "little things" like: health, joy, time, and family. Its ironic that so many of us work so hard to provide for our families but the work itself pushes us farther from home. Still we must give to Caesar what is Caesar's and we must provide rent at the end of each month. I feel that it is important to always know which direction you are going.

What we do everyday defines what we are to become. There must be time in your day for you to be the person you are designed to be. You should never push the things that are most important for your development in the background. Some of you may be lucky enough to have your quest and your job wrapped into one. For the rest of us we must find the strength and the courage to be ourselves when everything in our environment hinders us. Of course we need money even to fuel our hobbies from time to time. But the pursuit of money without purpose is the first step to losing yourself. If you had enough money, what would you be chasing?

I train not just to remember my movements or self defense reasons. I train so that I have the strength to win the battle of "self" from day to day. So that I can continue to do the unpleasant tasks requested of me with a smile. No matter how stressful things may become I know that it is not this job that defines me. But it is my "hobby" that is my real quest.