雨降って地固まる
Amefuttechikatamaru
After rain falls, the ground hardens
A warrior overcomes adversity. Long ago in Japan during the Hogen Rebellion of 1156, there was an archer of great strength who supposedly sunk a ship with just one well-placed arrow. That archer was Minamoto no Tametomo and he was said to be the greatest archer in the history of Japan. Tametomo didn’t start out as a great archer. On the contrary, he was born with a genetic defect and people must have thought that he’d never amount to anything because of this irregularity. One of Tametomo’s arms was four inches longer and slimmer than the other, which was shorter, but much larger. This defect could have made his childhood difficult and possibly make him feel self-conscious. However, as the legend clearly shows us, Tametomo used his adversity to make himself great. In Japanese they say, “ame futte chi katamaru” or “After rain falls, the ground hardens.” In battle and in life, some are sinkers, and some are swimmers. No matter what we do in life, a little rain will fall. Adversity will always be there in some way, shape or form. The problem is not adversity itself, but the effect it has on us. Adversity has a way of showing us just who we really are. Training does the same thing as we are challenged sometimes by the technique while other times by the strength or speed of our partner. Regardless, adversity provides us with the opportunity to surmount challenges and grow. These trials give us an opportunity to show just how good we really are. Rise to the challenge, don’t allow yourself to sink. We don’t know what heights our adversities will take us. All we know is that it is showing us the way and that is why a warrior overcomes adversity.
Today’s goal: Where has adversity taken you to? Allow it make you and don’t let it break you.