tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258648980066409612024-02-20T11:28:14.671-08:00East Bay Aikido"Be the change you seek."Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-86645430055810002092013-08-31T11:52:00.000-07:002013-08-31T14:52:53.339-07:00Elemental AikidoI've been thinking about these elements, drawn from multiple traditions: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Wood and Metal, and what makes a good aikido technique.<br />
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Here are a few initial thoughts. Like a good technique, I'm sure this will refine over time as I polish them through more reflection.<br />
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Earth is the grounding element. The practical. The ground we stand on. Does it work? Is it efficient? Is it true to the values and aspirations of our practice?<br />
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Air is the power of the breath. The spiritual connection between the seen and the unseen. Does it have a connection to a higher purpose?<br />
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Water is the flow. The ease of connection that moves, yielding, yet unyieldingly, toward its goal. Are you moving in harmony with your partner? Are you seeking resolution of the conflict?<br />
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Fire is the vitality. Does it have "zip"? Is the technique flat, mono-cromatic or dynamic and spirited? Does it spark something in you and the other person?<br />
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Wood is the Nature element. Does it follow the principles of nature, the Laws of the Universe? Is it transforming and creative? Is there a complete cycle, from beginning to end, of initiation, growth (natural development) and fading away which restores the natural harmony found in Nature?<br />
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Metal is the Mineral element. Metal is raw ore (from the Earth), forged (with Fire and Air), tempered (with Water) and shaped. Have you been "tempered" by your practice? Does your technique have "shape"? Is it a useful tool for the intended purpose?<br />
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A good technique is multi-layered, multi-dimensional. It has the depth of familiarity born from constant repetition. It has the ability to change and adapt to an ever-changing situation. It's effective without being damaging. It restores harmony.<br />
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To the mix, I would also add the notion of proportion. What is enough? What is too much? Too much of one element, not enough of another, throws the alchemy off and the intended result will not happen.<br />
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Too much Fire and you burn yourself, and others, out. You get injured. You get burned.<br />
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Not enough Air (holding your breath) and your energy fades. You run out of breath and are exhausted.<br />
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Too much Earth and you get stuck. New ideas and ways can't grow because the ground is not fertile or packed so hard the seed just sits on the surface.<br />
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Also add the idea of how the elements work together.<br />
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Add some Water, but not too much, and the Earth softens, the seed takes root. Add the warmth of the Sun (Fire), but not too much, and the seed opens and becomes a maturing plant. The plant takes in our "exhaust" (carbon dioxide - what we exhale) and gives back purified Air (oxygen). A transformation happens within the body of the plant.<br />
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You get the picture.<br />
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All this is nothing new. If you think about it, you know it already. The difficult part is living it.<br />
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That is our practice.<br />
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See you on the mat.<br />
<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-64495184896883038942012-03-29T20:34:00.000-07:002013-08-31T15:06:25.257-07:00Struggling and Suffering<div style="font: 12.0px Times New Roman; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Whenever you learn something new, there’s going to be a a struggle. Sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Take learning to tie your shoe laces as an example. Remember that? Remember how many times you tried, and messed up, before you finally got it. And now, years later, you hardly remember the difficulty. You probably just remember it as ”part of growing up.”</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">For a new student, learning aikido is something like that. Except, instead of one new body movement pattern, there are seemingly hundreds. And everyone of them with a different name! No wonder we struggle.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">But this struggle is good. It’s part of the learning process. It’s to be expected and honored. And it is different from suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Suffering is experiencing anguish. Pain. Emotional or physical. Suffering calls for alleviation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Humans can witness each others struggle and find mutual respect in the process, knowing that at the end of the struggle is a clearly won personal achievement.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">When humans witness suffering, however, the baseline response is to reach out and help alleviate or mitigate the hardship. This is our natural empathetic response.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">On the mat, when one is learning aikido, there is struggle. There’s suppose to be struggle. But rarely do I experience those people who are struggling as also suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Sometimes, yes. You do hear someone giving themselves a hard time. ”I’ll never get this”. ”I’m a slow learner.” ”I did it wrong again.” That sort of thing. Certainly, in those instances it may be helpful of offer a word of encouragement and a reminder about how, yes, you, too, struggled to familiarize yourself with this particular movement. Let them know that, yes, they are on the bell curve, and somewhere near the middle and not, as they imagine, way out on the edge.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Now, remember the learing-to-tie-your-shoe example a few paragraphs back? Of course, you do. Now, however let’s put ourselves not in the role of learning, but in the role of witnessing. Let’s imagine we’re the parent, or the teacher, or the friend who is helping and witnessing the process.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">The question then becomes, not whether to help, but how to help, and when. Too soon, and you risk robbing the person of the satisfaction of figuring it out for themselves. Too late, and you risk them heading into the realm of possible suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">And, let’s add the element of age and experience. So now we’re not talking about kids, where every day is a day of major learning and potential struggle. We’re talking about adults. Competent adults. Self-reliant adults. Adults with fully developed, and defended, egos.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Adults where, if you say something to help them, it could make them feel even stupider. Or, if you don’t say something to help them, it could make them feel even stupider.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Add to this the factor of ”unsolicited advice”. Helping someone who has not asked for any help. Do they actually need help and either don’t know how to ask or know how to ask, but, for some reason, don’t.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">So there you are, having just completed your four repetitions of the movement and you’re watching your partner struggle. What do you do?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">First, let’s remember the difference between struggling and suffering. Are they struggling, or suffering?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">If they’re struggling, should you help them immediately or give them some additional time to figure it out?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">This is where it gets really interesting for me. And especially for me as the Chief Instructor who witnesses this process daily between training partners.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Here’s my take on it. In the context of struggling and suffering. The learner is struggling and their partner, the witness, is often suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">They’re just dying to say something, to do something, to help. To do ANYTHING that will help to alleviate their partner’s suffering.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">But wait, your partner isn’t suffering. They’re struggling. You’re the one who’s suffering. And you’re suffering because your partner is struggling. Stop it. Stop suffering. Relax. Wait. Watch. The answer is right before your eyes. Be patient.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">And while you’re being patient, think about this: There are generally two reasons why someone breaks the silence so necessary for good training. To help and to show off.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Are you breaking the silence to offer assistance or are you just letting them know how much you know? Think about it. This is not an easy question. Especially if you have an ego. And who doesn’t have an ego?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Have they asked for help? Have you slowed down? Have you started the technique from the beginning? Have you just waited in place for a moment?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">If they haven’t asked for help, maybe you shouldn’t give any. I know you want to help, but your help may not be helpful right now. What helped you in a similar situation may be just the opposite of what is needed now. Maybe a question may be more helpful than a statement or your well-intentioned suggestion.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">I’m not saying this process is easy. Nor am I saying there is a formula. But what I am saying is that there is a relationship. A relationship between you and your training partner. And that relationship needs to be respected and preserved.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">You are not teacher-student. You are student-student. You’re more like siblings rather than parent and child. And, of you had siblings, you know the difference in your reactions and responses between when your parents tell you to do something and when a sibling tells you to do something. It’s the difference between ”Yes. Thank you. Right away.” and ”Buzz off. Get out of my face, you idiot.” This is the memory energy that you’re tapping into. A potential minefield.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Most students are open to having the ”teacher” come around and make suggestions. But not every student wants every other student constantly telling the what to do. It’s tedious. And it’s often counter productive. It may even drive some people away.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Your job is to train. That’s what you’re on the mat to do. Along with all those other people you bow in to. It’s the teacher’s job to teach.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Certainly, if you can be helpful, it may be helpful to help. But don’t assume just because you know the answer or think you know what someone else needs that you’re being helpful. You may just be getting in the way of the most natural thing there is. Learning.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Humans are hard-wired for mastery.</span></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-16600449557129296452012-01-05T14:41:00.000-08:002012-01-05T14:44:56.558-08:00Level One - Commitment<div>(Originally published in 1995)</div><div><br /></div><div>I just got back from the Mt. Baldy Zen Center in Los Angeles where each year over the Memorial Day weekend Frank McGouirk Sensei of Aikido-Ai in Whittier, CA hosts an aikido retreat which includes aikido training, tai chi, chi gong and early morning zen meditations.</div><div><br /></div><div> One of the high points of the retreat is the dharma talk by Dr. Robert Moore, Frank’s zen teacher. This year he spoke on the eight levels of mastery. During his talk, I was struck by the similarities between the model he used from his Chinese martial arts experience and the map that I have formed from my own experience. Both start at commitment.</div><div><br /></div><div> Mastery at level one is showing up. Getting to the dojo. Making yourself open and available for the teachings. Be there.</div><div><br /></div><div> I have often said to new students that, in the beginning, the hardest thing is getting to the dojo. Once you’re there, the rest is easy. But, as each of us will attest, getting there can be difficult. There are lots of reasons for not going... we’re tired... we’re hungry... something good is on TV... we just don’t feel like it... you name it...</div><div><br /></div><div> But. Sooner or later, you have to deal with it. How committed are you? And what are you going to do about it? You have got to show up in order to get the training.</div><div><br /></div><div> In the “old days” commitment was tested first. Students were left sitting outside the monastery doors for days, for weeks, in the cold, in the rain, just to see if they were serious. In Japan, stories abound about new students cleaning toilets for a year before they were deemed worthy of being given even the most basic teaching.</div><div><br /></div><div> What prospective student of today would wait outside the dojo for admittance longer that 15 minutes before going away thinking that maybe this wasn’t an auspicious occasion on which to start? They would come back when the stars were lined up better, or at least when the lights were on... And, as for cleaning toilets... janitors do that sort of thing... I mean, really...</div><div><br /></div><div> And yet commitment is the very thing that will immediately determine who will stay and who will go. All other traits become secondary. Students with physical talent come and go. Students with enthusiasm come and go. It is the students with commitment that come and stay. Not because they are talented, not because it’s always fun, not because of anything other than they are committed to being there. Time after time after time. Because they want to get what is there and they are committed to getting it. It is this quiet fierceness that forms every black belt.</div><div><br /></div><div> Remember the old stories of how black belts were made. One started with a white belt and over the years the sweat and dirt that permeated the belt turned it black. You couldn’t buy one. You had to make it yourself. No shortcuts. No quick way. No weekend courses. No home correspondence course. You had to show up to get it.</div><div><br /></div><div> Over the course of a lifetime, there may be an ebb and flow to your training. There are times when you have lots of time to show up for training and there are times when time is scarce for training. Not a problem. Your commitment will keep you on the path.</div><div><br /></div><div> Remember your commitment. To your training and to yourself.</div><div><br /></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-81574408543737812652010-03-16T15:44:00.000-07:002013-08-31T14:56:01.926-07:00Silence<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">These are some of the guidelines regarding talking on the mat that I use in my own training:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If I'm talking, I'm not training.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If it's more than three words, it's a conversation.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Is what I'm about to say more important than maintaining the silence?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Rumi says:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There is a way</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">between voice and presence</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">where information flows.</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In disciplined silence it opens.</span></i></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With wandering talk it closes.</span></i></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pema Chodron says:</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It's a transformative experience to simply pause instead of immediately filling up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as well as fundamental spaciousness.</span></i></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-67743952210317295342010-01-16T12:41:00.000-08:002010-01-16T12:48:03.681-08:00Kangeiko Poetry, Friday 1/15/2010<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Prescription for the Disillusioned</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Come new to this day.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Remove the rigid overcoat of experience,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the notion of knowing,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the beliefs that cloud your vision.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Leave behind the stories of your life.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Spit out the sour taste of unmet expectations.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Let the old,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">almost forgotten scent of what-if</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">drift back into the swamp</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">of your useless fears.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Arrive curious,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">without the armor of certainty,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">without the planned results for the life</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">you’ve imagined.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Live the life that chooses you,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">new with every breath,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">new with every blink of</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">your astonished eyes.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">— Rebecca del Rio</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Times New Roman"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Journey</span></span></b></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One day you finally knew what you had to do.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And began.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Though the voices around you</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">kept shouting their bad advice.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Though the whole house began to tremble</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and you felt the old tug at your ankles.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“Mend my life,” each voice cried.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But you didn’t stop.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You knew what you had to do.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Though the wind pried</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">with its fingers</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">at the very foundations.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Though their melancholy was terrible.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It was already late enough.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And a wild night.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And a road full of fallen branches</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and stones.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But little by little</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">as you left their voices behind,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the stars began to burn</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">through the sheets of clouds.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And there was a new voice</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">that you slowly recognized as you own</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">which kept you company</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">as you strolled deeper and deeper into the world.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Determined to do the only thing you could do.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Determined to save the only life you could save.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; min-height: 16.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">— Mary Oliver</span></span></p><p></p>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-45625664463305966722010-01-14T15:41:00.000-08:002010-01-16T12:48:22.679-08:00Kangeiko Poetry, Thursday 1/14/2010<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The mystery cannot be answered</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By repeating the question</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Nor can it be bought</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By going to amazing places.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Not until the eye and desires</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Have been stilled for many years,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Not until then,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Can I cross over from confusion.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial; min-height: 21.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">— Rumi</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px Arial"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Wild Geese</b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You do not have to be good.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You do not have to walk on your knees</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">You only have to let the soft animal of your body</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">love what it loves.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meanwhile the world goes on.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">are moving across the landscapes,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">over the prairies and the deep trees,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the mountains and the rivers.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">are heading home again.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the world offers itself to your imagination,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting—</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">over and over announcing your place</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">in the family of things.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">— Mary Oliver</span></span></p><p></p>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-79697407190938535662010-01-13T16:13:00.000-08:002010-01-16T12:48:53.223-08:00Kangeiko Poetry, Wednesday 1/13/2010<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Self-Portrait</b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It doesn’t interest me if there is one God or many gods.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you know despair or can see it in others.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I want to know if you are prepared to live in this world with its harsh need to change you.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">If you can look back with firm eyes saying this is where I stand.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I want to know if you know how to melt into that fierce heat of living falling toward</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">the center of your longing.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I want to know if you are willing to live, day by day, with the consequence of love</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and the bitter unwanted passion of your sure defeat.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have heard, in </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">that</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> fierce embrace, even the gods speak of God.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; min-height: 18.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">— David Whyte</span></p>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-19813617011123655762010-01-13T16:07:00.000-08:002010-01-16T12:49:35.842-08:00Kangeiko Poetry, Monday 1/11/2010<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Wanderer, there is no road</b></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><br />Wanderer, your footsteps are<br />the road, and nothing more;<br />wanderer, there is no road,<br />the road is made by walking.<br />By walking one makes the road,<br />and upon glancing behind<br />one sees the path<br />that never will be trod again.<br />Wanderer, there is no road -<br />Only wakes upon the sea.<br /><br />— Antonio Machado</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The original Spanish:<br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Caminante, son tus huellas</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">el camino, y nada más;</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">caminante, no hay camino,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">se hace camino al andar.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Al andar se hace camino,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">y al volver la vista atrás</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">se ve la senda que nunca</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">se ha de volver a pisar.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Caminante, no hay camino,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">sino estelas en la mar.</span></span></p> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And another English translation:</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wayfarer, the only way is your footsteps,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">there is no other.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wayfarer, there is no way,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">you make the way as you go.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As you go you make the way</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and stopping to look behind,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">you see the path that your feet will never travel again.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wayfarer, there is no way -</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Trebuchet MS; color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">only foam trails in the sea.</span></span></p></div><div><br /></div></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-73372361633240829872009-09-15T21:41:00.000-07:002010-01-16T12:50:49.749-08:00KindnessHere's a simple kindness practice:<div><br /></div><div>Count the number of kind acts you do in a day and then at 3 stop counting and continue doing acts of kindness.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-7578376739338968812009-05-20T12:18:00.000-07:002009-05-21T13:07:57.583-07:00Five Things I Would Like To See In My Lifetime<div>In no particular order, but, still... in my lifetime.</div><div><br /></div><div>End of the death penalty.<br /></div><div>End of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."<br /></div><div>Universal single payer healthcare.<br /></div><div>Equal marriage rights for all couples.<br /></div><div>Legalization of marijuana for medical and personal use.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-3344790742013019762009-05-03T23:19:00.000-07:002009-05-03T23:23:19.667-07:00Arrogance and IgnoranceLately, I've been thinking about arrogance and ignorance. Here's what I've come up with so far: It's arrogance that keeps me from seeing the genius in others. And it's ignorance that keeps me from seeing the genius in me.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-42380932959204414142008-06-01T12:48:00.000-07:002008-06-01T13:01:47.069-07:00An Open HeartAn open heart is a generous and loving heart. And a vulnerable heart. When confronted by life’s vicissitudes, we naturally build barriers and adopt behaviors to protect our gentle hearts. Yet, these same protective barriers and behaviors impede our natural flow of generosity and love.<br /><br />Without practices and gatherings which allow us to reopen and reconnect to our loving selves and others, the path away from love grows wider every day and harder to reverse.<br /><br />Reopening your heart is an act of courage. Learning practices which replace resistance with resilience and competitiveness with compassion begins the process of turning our hearts back to our original state. From clutching to caring, from bitterness to benevolence, and from a living death to a living life.<br /><br />What practices do you do to reopen your heart? What gatherings do you attend which put you in the company of like-minded people seeking the same goals?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-57598033367617809082008-01-31T11:13:00.000-08:002009-07-10T12:28:38.940-07:00The Quest for Non-Harming TechniquesIt's clear from research that O'Sensei took the old martial arts techniques he had learned and modified them according to his spiritual practice. This evolution of techniques is part of our legacy from him. And one of aikido's cornerstones.<br /><br />He left us a "work in progress." And it's our responsibility to continue searching for new effective self-defense techniques, and modifying old ones to become even less harming.<br /><br />The analogy I often use is knee surgury. (Something too many are familiar with.) In the "old days" surgeons cut open your knee, spread it apart, repaired whatever was necessary and closed it up. Very invasive and it took a long time to heal.<br /><br />The current "modern day" knee surgury is often arthroscopic. A couple of small holes, minor invasion, and shorter healing time.<br /><br />Doctors are continuing to look for new and inovative ways to solve old problems. Less invasive, less traumatic. That type of quest is also necessary in aikido.<br /><br />I call it the "Quest for Non-Harming Techniques."<br /><br />Why throw someone in a way that might cause them injury when another, less risky, way will do the job? Why not deal with the situation in the most effective and yet least traumatic way possible?<br /><br />So next time you're on the mat, why not look for a new way? Reducing the amount of violence in our lives is well worth the effort.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-969988985802659392007-10-10T11:49:00.000-07:002008-01-31T11:11:34.434-08:0060I turned 60 today. And what an amazing 60 years it has been. If you had asked me at 12, or even 18, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I certainly wouldn't have said an aikido instructor. In fact, I had no idea that aikido even existed until I was about 21 years old and an Army buddy told me about it.<br /><br />Now, 33 years after I began aikido, here I am with my own dojo and thriving community. I've been a full-time aikido instructor for 21 years and have been in the same location for 19 years. No small feat given the rise and fall of strip mall martial arts schools I've seen during that time.<br /><br />It's hard to put into words how my practice has changed over the three decades. The closest thing may be something like, "It has deepened." The gradual unfolding that has happened has made me appreciate that something as life-changing as aikido takes years to even begin to understand.<br /><br />I want to take a moment here, on my 60th solar cycle day, to express gratitude to Morihei Ueshiba, O'Sensei for his grand vision and his commitment to his own spiritual path; and to my first teacher Stan Pranin Sensei for his enthusiasm and curiosity about aikido and O'Sensei's life; and to my current teacher, Frank Doran Sensei for his continued support in allowing me to find my own personal path within the larger path of aikido; and to my wife, Linda for waking me up to the fact that without loving support from a life-partner, an important part of one's deepest self may never get expressed in the world; and to all my teachers over the years, both in aikido and in other practices, who have shown me both how to be and how not to be; and to all my students who have also been my teachers; and to my former wives, all my friends, my family... <br /><br />To all of you, I love you.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />It's been an amazing 60 years.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25864898006640961.post-37976865110644483592006-12-15T14:38:00.000-08:002008-01-31T11:12:01.224-08:00Allow No Harm. Do No Harm.My wife, Linda, came up with one of the best short descriptions of Aikido I've ever heard.<br /><br />"Allow no harm. Do no harm."<br /><br />Brilliant.<br /><br />Take care of your yourself: Allow no harm.<br /><br />And don't harm the other person: Do no harm.<br /><br />O'Sensei said (or so it was said he said), "Aikido is the loving protection of all living things." All living things. Not just those things we already love. But the other things as well. The not so loveable things in our lives.<br /><br />Jesus said (or so it was said he said), "Love your enemies." Loving your friends, and/or even close aquaintences is not so difficult. But your enemies? Now that's a practice.<br /><br />I've created friends and I've created enemies. And I've turned friends into enemies. The hardest practice for me is the turning enemies into friends. That's worth trying. Again and again.<br /><br />And while I'm practicing all that. I'll do my best to allow no harm and to do no harm.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11962667006833526186noreply@blogger.com0