Setting An Example

One of my black belts asked me this week what specifically I felt we were meant to do. She asked this in response to my statement that we have come together for a reason. I’m thinking all my students may benefit from the perspective so I am posting my response in my journal. I responded to her with the following:

Ah, the big why. That is the question isn't it? I know the answer to that is 42 but of course it is much more complicated than that. The way I see it, every moment is an opportunity. What we do with these moments will define our lives and ultimately at the end of the day it will be how we lived our lives that will be valued by others. The way we live our lives is our legacy.

I don't know of anybody who hasn't wanted a career where they feel they can make a difference. So many people feel nothing but frustration with their impotence when it comes to having a say in what is going on in their world. We black belts have an opportunity here to use our kung fu to influence and promote the change we want to see in our world. We don't need to reach everybody, we just need to reach one person. The right person.

I don't want my children's values, and thus their world, to be defined by materialism and some self serving definition of freedom and security. We have people seeking out Silent River Kung Fu, traveling great distances even though they have access to a school near their own home, to learn from us. They don't come to learn kung fu, they come to learn from us. Why? Ultimately they respect our values and they trust us to instill those values in our students. This is our work, and make no mistake about it, this is our responsibility.

We have the power of great influence. It is ours to use or ignore. My personal take on this is that it is almost as bad to do a bad deed as it is to not do something to try and make a difference. What is making this difference? It is the self realization, the discipline, the progress, the confidence - all these fantastic things that come from putting yourself out there and striving toward your goal. They come from the lifestyle change that occurs from the moment you step into your first horse stance to the time you execute that perfect hip throw. These intangibles are what mould us into black belts, into leaders, into people with the power of influence.

Why indeed have we come together? Why after over twenty years of Silent River Kung Fu, and thousands of students, are there only twenty of us or so standing hand in hand in the forefront of the organization? I think it is because we few have answered a higher calling and have the guts, and perhaps the naiveness to want to take responsibility for the state of our world.

So what specific differences? I can think of only one that really, truly matters. We show people that we care. We don't stand around waiting for things to happen, we make them happen. We care about them and that is reflected in how we care about ourselves and our kung fu. We set an example of excellence that serves as a tool of influence.

Be the change you want to see.

“Children are more influenced by sermons you act than by sermons you preach.”
- David McKay (1873 - 1970)