This made sense. I opened up my dojo (this is when I lived in Lincoln, Ne) and it was successful! Yes, there were problems. There's marketing, rent, insurance, parents of kids who think their kid should be a black belt in three months and a few sleepless nights....but, during this time, I conducted many Zen workshops with Rev. Nonin Chowaney of the Nebraska Zen Center, met many black belts from other systems of martial arts and even was published in the Lincoln paper and a national martial arts magazine...and met many wonderful people.
Don Juan Matus, the famous Yaqui medicine man, is often quoted by saying your path in life must have heart. He said all paths lead nowhere, so make sure your path is one of passion and heart. Otherwise, your path will kill you and rob you of life.
I am so happy I chose to move forward in the martial arts. Even tho I had to sell my dojo when I had to relocate back to Wisconsin, returning to the land of the Badgers has opened many more opportunities. The Broken Bokken Dojo has been a path of heart for me and I gave myself more interesting problems when I got my book published. The publishing world is a strange new world for me and exploring it a white belt has been quite a journey.
Pursue your passions...it won't make your life perfect or give you everything you want...but at least the path will be full of excitement and wonder...and it will give your life a rush of energy that makes you feel alive!
Hands palm to palm,
Shinzen
So true. A friend always says "You might as well do what you love in life. Nobody gets out alive, anyway..."
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing :-)
You made the decision based on your heart. It cannot go wrong--at least in long term.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration :)