Possibility

Our western culture has devolved into a culture of excess.

“Here in the West we have exorcised the spirits and cut ourselves loose from the living web of the world. Instead of seeing ourselves as physically and spiritually connected to family, clan and land, we now live chiefly by the mind, as separate individuals acting on and relating to other separate individuals and on a lifeless, dumb world beyond the body. Applying our mind to the matter around us, we have produced an extraordinary material culture: cities and highways and toasters and blenders, computer technology, medical technology, paper clips, assault rifles and television sets. But we find ourselves separated, fragmented, lonely, fearful of death. We have coined a word for this state of mind: “alienation,” which means being estranged. We are strangers in the world; we no longer belong. Because it is separated from us we can act on it, abstract from it, use it, take it apart; we can wreck it, because it is another, it is alien. We may feel despair, grief and guilt about the damage we cause - but we seem unable to change the way we live.”
David Suzuki - The Sacred Balance

We have lost touch with each other and the world around us. We spend an extraordinary amount of energy searching for ways to fill the void left by what used to be our sense of community. Material possessions and extreme experiences only reinforce our inkling that something is missing. We feel the need to facilitate change but at the same time we can feel impotent and ineffective.

Opportunity. One of my black belts mentioned in her blog, the stage that teaching kung fu provides her and therefore the opportunity she has to make a difference. I have several young black belts who set a fantastic example for all my students and who are making a profound difference in the lives of everyone they have contact with. I do worry that they all do not completely appreciate the opportunity and responsibility before them. Will they take this opportunity and nurture it? Or will the exuberance of youth provoke them into making rash decisions and squander it, destined to look back on a life filled with lost opportunities and cynicism.

Many people spend a lifetime searching for an opportunity to give their life purpose. As martial artists we live a lifestyle that not only improves our personal lives but gives us a tremendous opportunity to impact everyone around us. What we do with this opportunity goes a long way in bringing us back in touch with our world. Think of the possibility.

“We have more possibilities available in each moment than we realize.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh (b 1926)