This has been tough. More than a year of working (too much) remotely. Classes cancelled for several months during the worst of SOE. Nowhere to get away as all flights in/out have basically been cancelled. The pressure building and building... Every single person in the world has been impacted by this pandemic, some of us worse than others. We've all lost so much. And it's not over yet.
To be honest I haven't felt much like writing lately. It's been hard enough to get through every day. Sometimes I wonder if it is all even worth it. IT IS.
Last week I got some unsolicited mails from my students. One of them read:
"Dear John, I wanted to thank you many times for that conversation in Tokyo after the class…But I guess what I should be really great full about is that unconditional love and support you gave to all of your students, including myself. I walked into your class insecure and left as a fighter ready to take my personal battles."
Another read
"I recently did a topic on everyday heroes at my school. Of course, the students wanted to know about mine and your name came to mind quite quickly. Your blog topics are inspiring and when I read them, they resonate with whatever is going on in life."When I started this blog in 2005 I had no great big plan for how it would go or who would see it. I had nothing to shout from the mountaintops. I wasn't trying to change the world. I just wanted a place where I could share some things I have learned along the way in the hopes that it would help me clarify my own thoughts as well as maybe give some small insight into the martial arts journey we are on and why it could be important. Now it's 16 years later and 522 posts of content. Truly a life's work.
I have tried to be authentic in my writing and in my interactions with everyone, inside class or not. Many students have come and gone in the 11 years since I started teaching. My own teachers, my fellow teachers and my students have given me so much and I want to deliver each class the very best that I can. You deserve it.
In the end, we never know how what we say or do could impact others. Every encounter could be the spark of change in them or in us. Every conversation has the power to heal and inspire if we let it. We can and must support each other in these difficult times. It's the only way we can make in through to the other side.
Many thanks for the words of kindness you have given me. They remind me why this task is so important. If even one single person benefits from what I say or do, then the effort is worthwhile. We do not all need to change the world in big, broad strokes. However, each of us can change our little corner of it if we try. The slightest bit of compassion and empathy can yield a result far more than we imagine. This is the way of the Peaceful Warrior, entrusted to me by my teachers and kept alive by all of us every day.
We need this now more than ever.
Be Kind.
