Change

       Once upon a time, a set of triplets were conceived.  Weeks passed and the triplets developed. As their awareness grew, they laughed for joy, "Isn't it great to be alive?" Together they explored their world.  When they found their mother's umbilical cord which gave them life, they sang for joy! "How great our mother's love is, that she shares her own life with us!"  As weeks stretched into months, the triplets noticed how much each was changing.
       "What does it mean?" the first one asked. "It means our stay in this world is drawing to an end," said another.  "But I don't want to go," said the third.  "I want to stay here forever."  "We have no choice, but maybe there is a life after birth." said the first triplet.
       "But how can there be? We will shed our life cord and how can life be possible without it?  Besides, we have seen evidence that others were here before us, and none of them has returned to tell us that there is life after birth.  No, this is the end.  Maybe there is no mother after all." argued the second.  "But there has to be," protested the third.  "How else did we get here?"
       "How do we remain alive? Have you ever seen our mother?" said the second triplet. "Maybe she only lives in our minds.  Maybe we made her up because the idea made us feel good."
       So the last days in the womb were filled with deep questioning and fear.  Finally, the moment of birth arrived.  When the triplets had passed from their world, they opened their eyes and cried for joy-- for what they saw exceeded their fondest dreams.
       I think that this is a really good zen story symbolizing change.  When ever there is a change that is taking place, we all tend to freak out and start worrying about what is going to happen in the future instead of living in the present moment.  So when change starts to occur, we all need to step back and look at the good things that could happen instead of jumping straight to the worst.  I know I have done this and it doesn't help, it just makes you more worried and stressed.
      I also think this zen story symbolizes support.  We all need that one person to lean on when things get tough.  If you don't then you will crumble under the pressure of trying to handle it on your own. In this story, the triplets rely on each other to help them get through their confusion. We need to find someone to lean on who is going through the same thing or who has had the same problem in the past.
"Lean on me, when you're not strong.  And I'll be you friend, I'll help you carry on."-Bill Withers.

Ki

“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing.” – Chuang-Tzu

            Ki energy is an invisible force inside of us that allows us to do things without letting our mind get in the way.  When life is easy and everything is going that way you want it to, you are accepting the Ki energy inside you.  When you accept the energy, life is easy and you can get your daily tasks done. But when everything goes wrong and no matter what you do, you can’t get anything don’t; you are pushing away your Ki energy.  When you become mad and upset, you are not accepting the uncontrollable events.  When we learn to deal with them and accept that they are happening, life will be easier.

             A good example is when Dr. Foley has us do self-defense.  Whenever you do a wristlock, he always says ‘they grab you, you grab them back.’ After that, you push down and take control or walk away.  Its just like in life, when a problem grabs a hold of you, you make it stop by grabbing it.  Then you push it out of sight (pushing down) and forget it, or do something further (walk away or take control).

Black Belt Test

Thank you for all of those who encouraged me and offered me guidance before and during my black belt test. Even all of the little things made a big difference. - Illumination

Finding the Bright Side

            Don’t let things ruin you day.  There is a popular Zen story that explains this.  One day, an old lady woke up with only 3 hairs on her head.  So she decided to braid them and went off to work and had a great day.  The next day, she woke up with 2 hairs on her head.  She happily said “Great, now I can part it down the middle and made pigtails”. She went off to work and had a great day.  The next day, she woke up with only 1 hair on her head.  She said “Great, I will put it in a ponytail today.” She did and went off to work and had a great day.  The next day, she woke up with no hair.  So with a smile she said “Great! Now I don’t have to do my hair today.” She went off to work and had an amazing day. 
            Even though something terrible happened to this lady, she shook if off and didn’t let it ruin her day.  I can guarantee that a most of us would have let losing our hair ruin our day, but we all need to learn to live our lives like this lady.  Attitude is everything.  We need to be grateful for the things that we do have and not let the things that go wrong, tear us down.  When we do let these things tear us down, it domino effects.  It makes us miserable with then makes the people around us miserable.
            In order to keep this from happening, we need to not sweat the small stuff or let the big stuff get to us.