Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on February 17, 2002.
We should try to look at our practice simply, clearly and naturally. This does not mean to approach Aikido too simplistically, nor does it mean to become too muddled in an imagined complexity of the art. We should try to see the art just "as it is." In Japanese, this is sono mama (其の儘) or “something just as it is in its original, perfect, and undistorted state.” Of course, in training, it is important to make the art our “own,” but this does not mean to add too much of ourselves to it. Can you understand what I mean? I think people today think of mastery as control over the art. In an older age, we approach it from the standpoint of becoming "absorbed" by the art. Perhaps, this may take too much because of the sense of self-esteem and self-worth which we possess today. We should try to "become" the art, not necessarily the "dominator" of the art. My tea teacher always said, “If you cut me, I will bleed tea!" because she was just so absorbed into the practice of chado (茶道) or “tea ceremony.” I love this story. I think we should all try to reach the state, "If you cut me, I will bleed Aikido!"