Thanks, I needed That!

I watched Kaelan and her teammates get prepared for their black belt last year and as I watched, I admit, I thought on a couple of occasions, "hard but not too bad."

I take that back.

The physical aspect of getting ready has been increased the past three weeks and it has been gruelling. I have worked hard on all aspects of my training and based on my schedule that I had set I am about a week behind. What I was not counting on was the mental toughness required.

What did not look that bad was a result of me not having to know and not having to train. Add in having to know and having to train and it is entirely a different ball game. I have worked very hard on learning and working on the requirements for testing. As soon as you add in having to know and having to perform on demand your mind can freeze, the challenge now is to get beyond mind freezes and becoming like water. Letting movements and forms flow like water, knowing when and where to change and mold to the circumstances presented. These things must be like walking.

I will likely get pulled aside at some point this week and be tested on forms. While I feel ready I am anxious because I do not want to be sloppy or freeze. So I feel the pressure and at the same time laugh at myself because it is a choice to do this after all.

Today in forms training we were tested on where we were and by in large I felt good about what I did. But what really was needed was just having some fun with the candidates and Alice and JP took care that.

We were all invited to toboggan at Alice and JP's. They have a hill that is short walk from their home and I tell you it was just what the Doctor ordered! Flying down the hill, falling, laughing and having fun without anything other than the pure enjoyment of each others company was just what we all needed.

As I sat with Claire in the snow and saw the smiles on each face and heard the laughter, I could not feel any better about where we all are. Already I have gotten to know some folks that I never really knew and we have a common purpose. In today's world there is not much opportunity quite like this. Its not about winning or loosing, its not about being better than, its not about making more, this is about fellowship and believing in each other. I would suggest wanting the same for everyone. We live in a world where this is becoming foreign and that is worrisome because what gets substituted for this feeling is a feeling of having to beat someone, be better than someone, make more money than someone rather than simply caring for each other.

So thank you Alice and JP and thank you candidates.

I leave you with a quote by Helen Keller:

"My friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation."