Dig deeper


This morning I woke up feeling the chill on my finger tips and ears as soon as I cracked the door. I don't know whether it's global warming or just because it's 5am but it sure doesn't feel like June. It was enough to make me really question my motivation to train today. After all I have a job interview at 8 that I could be getting ready for. Soon I will be dedicating 9 hours a day to some one else's quest to make more sales. If I can't give myself just two hours of something meaningful, then I will eventually find my being drowned in the sorrows of artificial comforts. So I bite my lip, button up my jacket and grab my spear.

Every morning I wrestle with the thoughts that would discourage me from making that small amount of progress I need for the day. It's amazing how persuasive we become when we choose to comfort or feel sorry for ourselves. Every time we can overcome this mental wall we bring more quality to our character. This mental accomplishment will become the most significant part of our training.

Today's battle with the cold sparked a new revelation in the terms of energy. Bagua studies energies from 8 directions that lead into an infinite amount of gateways. In order for me to open more doors I must relentlessly explore within myself. In the middle of an empty street I can hear my shoes tearing away at the step of every technique. I've done this technique so many times but I still can't do it fast enough...or slow enough. It isn't good enough to just practice, I must practice more perfectly and completely.

Some where between hearing the words of my master, my father and the sound of my hands slicing against the crisp breeze, I found something. It was as if I touched something so real that everything else seemed to become an illusion. It was only a flash but the feeling continued to linger with me. At the end of my work out I found myself surrounded by animals. Birds and squirrels within a hands reach stood next to me unafraid. It was like they were able to identify a part of me that I never knew I had forgotten.

In the shower I was able to start putting together what it means. It's said that we can identify hundreds of logos from every type of product yet we are unable to identify the plants outside of our own house. Why do I know more about the lives of movie stars than I do about my own neighbors? All of the food, information and entertainment is provided by people that I don't even know. We are being stripped from each other and the Earth to live as isolated servants. We may seem smarter and stronger than people in the past, but how many of us can retrieve our own food? We are completely reliant for our most basic and essential needs.

Maybe that's why martial arts is the one thing that keeps me feeling in tuned. Fighting seems to be the most surface level of the arts. Who knows what secrets have been hidden inside the depth of the techniques? We must continue to train in order to find the real truth behind the illusions. What ever your trade is you must grow enough that you can take care of your family not just in terms of finance. If you are unable to do so then I suggest you get started in those little things that might save your life. The system that we all have grown to love, might not be there one day.

Comments

hermann said…
Wow, back to work?
Still not possible to make a living with your MA knowledge from Taiwan?

Do you miss the island?
36° for several days, down south in Gaoxiong.
June 18, 2011 at 1:44 AM
Robert Jay Arnold 孔有有 said…
Soon I will be able to work it out so that I am only doing Bagua, but it will take some time to get everything in the correct working order. I miss Taiwan but am in no hurry to go back now. Like a bird out of his nest, I need to get used to flying.
June 18, 2011 at 9:40 AM
Jason said…
Great post. I suggest reading "The Four Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferris. You might find it useful in giving you more freedom and time to pursue your bagua training.
June 27, 2011 at 10:27 AM
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