Merry Christmas
For a warrior, everyday should be Christmas. Christmas reminds us to be grateful and true gratefulness requires mindfulness. Mindfulness means that we are in command of our actions and aware of our thoughts but we also realize that the two are not necessarily 0ne in the same. It is said, “Every action begins with a thought,” but, the question is, “Is that thought true or real?” Recently, I read an article in Nature titled Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger which discussed that in our midbrains, isolation and hunger act very similarly. Thus one could posit that when we are hungry, we might be lonely and when we are lonely, we might just be hungry. That made me think of Aikido. In class, before we begin training with our partner, we say, “onegaishimasu” or “please”, bow and pause for a brief moment. In a sense, we are starting with mindfulness. When we start off on the right foot, those things tend to have a better outcome. Someone once said, “Well begun is half done.” Starting with an act of mindful gratefulness enables us to appreciate our partner’s support and sacrifice. If we don’t start mindfully, we run the risk of allowing our bad day to seep on to the mat and end up acting like a bully or hurting someone. Thus we need some way of separating our thoughts and feelings from our actions. Training enables us to mindfully discern what is really going on and separate the thought from the action. Thus, gratefulness enables us to be mindful which enables us to live peacefully. In Zen and the tea ceremony, a common adage is nichi nichi konichi which usually translates as “Every day is a good day” but it can also mean “Live meaningfully.” Realizing that every day is a good day enables us to live meaningfully and that begins with thankfulness. Thus, before we “eat our feelings”, fall down the black hole of the internet or get mad at someone and do something we may regret, we should mindfully check in and see what is really going on. Christmas is a day which is supposed to remind us to be grateful, but warriors don’t need a reminder because they are always mindful of their thoughts and thus they are always grateful. Have a great and safe holiday.
Today’s goal: Pause for a brief moment and take a breath in every time you wish someone “Merry Christmas.”