Respecting the Bow

 Do you know why you bow when you enter and leave the mats at the Kwoon, or when you start and finish your class?

For me, it is to not only to show my respect, but to also open my mind, and heart. I am thankful for the opportunity to be there. I am thankful for the people around me, the people that came before me, and the space provided to me to practice this martial art. 

I think most importantly for me it is to allow my mind to be open, and to accept what is being given to me. The knowledge, the tools, and the opportunity to become a better person. To have a healthier lifestyle. But is up to only me, to make good use of all that is offered. As soon as I pull into the parking lot, I feel a sense of peace. I open the door, and everything I bring with me stays on the other side of the door when I enter. My mind is free, and my heart is open. 

It does not start and end in the Kwoon for me. It is always with me, in everything I do, and in every interaction I have. Of course there is always pressure points, and stresses with life, but the gifts of the Kwoon, and people within stay with me, and help to guide me. 

Mindset

I feel that I not only have learned some positive outcomes on this last bit of my journey, but also realized I had lost my direction of Where am I, and What am I Doing. Some of the highlights of my reflections - 

- This is not a destination, it is a journey

- It will not end with a color of belt around my waist

- I need to continually remind myself of why I choose to be on this journey

- There will always be times of turbulence 

- I believe these are the most important times to take stock, reflect, reset and sometimes that means to begin anew

- A new day, a new opportunity 

- Another chance to be thankful

- I am but a small cog in the corporate wheel

- I do love what I do professionally, I believe I bring value, and I do help to make peoples lives a little better

- it is also not worth the expense of me

- I know priorities will always be shifting slightly, but I need to keep those priorities in check as well

- I only have one shot at this life, and I want to give it my best for me, not to a corporate world that will simply replace me when I am gone

A part of my journey that continues to teach me valuable lessons. Always grateful. 

Mindset Part 2

I’m not sure why I am doing these blogs in parts really, as I think my mindset is always the number one factor in everything I do. But nonetheless, this is a certain track I am following at the moment, in a time of struggle. 

Since my last blog, training has improved somewhat. Not where I would ideally like to be, but not as stressed out as I was. One of the main reasons for this is reaching out, and doing a one on one. This helped me immensely as when I actually speak the words of how I’m feeling, it seems to take the power away from the negativity. It also helps to know, and be told that I am not alone, it is not the first time, and it won’t be the last. I do know this, but when you are in that bubble of stress, common sense tends not to be forefront. 

Probably the one comment that was made towards the end of my one on one, resonated the most with me. I didn’t even mention my mom as part of my struggles and stress points at this time. This really made me reflect on this, as of course this has not been an easy journey. My response was that it is part of my everyday life now, therefore for the most part it just is. I have learned to flow with it. I’ve learned to adjust when needed, and to remain positive, even though I know there is not going to be improvement. Sure, there are points of pressure, change, and higher stress times, but it is expected, and I simply adapt to what is needed at the time. Yes, there are struggles, but they don’t seem to throw off my entire schedule for the most part.

Why then, am I struggling so much right now? Yes, work is a different stress, but I also know that it is something that is always going to be there. For the foreseeable future anyway. I have reflected a lot on this in the last couple of weeks. I have made improvements, and it seems to be working well. I will leave this for part 3 of my trilogy, so as not to ramble on too mich.