Lifelong Learning

Having had the privilege of being born with a body with great physical strength and a propensity for skill, outstanding health and ability, I often consider the many things I learned through the sporting endeavours that I participated in. From the outside, it may seem a completely self-serving path, but throughout the training, competitions, races and events, I discovered layers of myself, and in peeling them back, I dove ever deeper into my own understanding of my body and my being.

I bounced ideas around of previously held opinions, beliefs and understandings, evolved my thinking, changed my mind, shifted my capacity for true tolerance, awareness and compassion, extended my levels of mental and physical discipline, yet softened my grip on what I thought I knew.  I realized that the more I learned, the less I actually knew because new dimensions of reality kept presenting themselves to me, contradicting what I was previously so sure of, and playfully showing me more sides to a story than I ever imagined possible – all of them true.

In assessing my own comprehension of technical ability in martial arts, I found myself reaching further afield to know more, greedy to find knowledge beyond the fringes of my own hardcore training, hungry to cultivate my mind.  In this deeply personal odyssey, I found the endless space to grow internally, play with thoughts and philosophies gleaned from sages both modern day, and from centuries ago, and take for myself what I felt resonated with my own truth.  Such is the journey of a curious soul.

During the mining of my own evolving understanding of my experiences, I find that the learning is never over.  There is always more to be learned from past experience.  New shiny nuggets to uncover, turn over, dust off, and reconsider from every angle.

If you think you ‘know it all’, not only do you stunt your growth, but you run the risk of missing the point.  If you ever do find yourself patting yourself on the back for ‘knowing it all’, consider a deeper dive into the unfathomable depths of your inner being.  Dare to learn from your past, from others, and from your inner voice.  Prize your mind open, explore your hidden truths, and strap yourself in for the most interesting adventure of all.

If karate has taught me anything, it was to consistently apply myself, not just physically, but in all aspects of my life.  Do the work, look deeper, practice skills I wish to master, and expand my mind and inner being every day.  When all the physical fanfare is over, and we find ourselves passing knowledge on to younger minds, and letting them shine, don’t worry about ever having lost your relevance or purpose.  If we’ve been lucky to live long enough to consider ourselves old, perhaps our new purpose is to do these deep dives and flesh out our philosophies, values and views that we use to define ourselves.

As a lifelong student of martial arts or other disciplines, you know how to embark on the formal learning process.  I challenge you now to amplify this ability and use it on a cosmic level.  Here you’ll find new dimensions and multiple perspectives, where your old understandings coalesce with the new, to reveal deeper significance to your very existence.   

If we are still alive, there is still work to do, and more to learn.