The Art of Knowing without Knowing
Winter training is never as enjoyable as the spring or even scorching hot summer time, but it offers many advantages. As I bundle myself into extra layers of clothing, I add weight to every movement. There is also additional weight in my mind as I look out into my now frosted natural dojo of trees. Daily I spend hours with the same trees and watch as they change clothing for the increasingly brisk winter days. In the night time they appear to be a rustic, metallic color. Yet in the morning the fog passes through its bark that shines like smooth glass.
My art also changes as I move between the trees, never daring to slow down for fear that the cold will catch up to me. I can feel my movements ever so gradually improving as I attempt to see beyond the white of my breath. After a few hours pass, my Qi reaches its limits and my fingers and toes are fully aware of the brutal cold. I sit in a lotus position on top of the sleeping grass and the earth greets me with a sharp chill.
The chill immediately activates a part of my brain that is usually dormant, and it comes with a message that I am unable to interpret. I open my eyes feeling disappointed that I had lost what seemed to be a very important signal.
When I get home my wife can see from my expression that my workout has been one that has brought more questions than answers. Before I am able to explain to her my frustration, she answers the question in my mind.
"If you believe it was a bad workout, then it was."
Her answer plants a rapidly growing seed, that quickly develops branches and then fruit into my every thought. The ultimate level of kung fu is knowing. By knowing that everything that awaits you is good, we create the most desired outcome for ourselves. But when we feel that bad things will happen or have happened, we create the possibility of much darker outcomes. You must continually think on all of the great things that await you every second in order to block out the possibility of doubt. Your doubt in God, yourself and in your peers will eventually lead you in to a cavern of impossibilities. You must know how great you are at all times. You must also know that each day will only get better from here. Your every dream is just waiting for you to contemplate it into existence.
Of course we live in a world designed by nightmares. If you sit and watch the news long enough you will actually start to be affected by things that have nothing to do with your life. Yes they use convincing arguments to explain why it is important for you to be afraid of a billion things this year. Maybe if they make enough people believe the world will end, it will. After all we are made in the image of the creator and his thoughts brought us life. Will your thoughts bring you death?
I know this year is going to be the best year we have ever had. A time that we will each as individuals evolve into something more meaningful. A world that will no longer be distracted by games and obsessed with meaningless values. I know that our efforts create the paradise that we all deserve. But what I have come to know and understand in my training will mean nothing to you. Now it's time for you to answer the question,
"What do you know is waiting for you?"
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