What’s been on my mind this week is how totally stuck we humans can get to feeling. There are so many ways a life can wind its way towards a feeling of immobility, of helplessness. And I think this is one of the most dangerous places for us to be. Stuck may be the one reason why people give up. We can feel intense fear, incredible sadness, even miserable pain, but if we are aware that this feeling will pass, we can handle it.
Labor, childbirth, and raising children is an excellent example of this. We as parents move through some incredibly difficult times, but the happiest parents I know are those who understand that the difficulty is in a container, and they are not trapped inside this container.
But what if we do feel trapped? What if we are in some life situation so deep that it seems there is no way back to happiness or peace? I’ve been there. Hopelessness.
I was 22, just before I found the martial art I study now. Looking back at that time, I’m mystified. I have no idea why I felt stuck in that situation, now that I can see the freedom here on the other side. But ask me about that then, and I would have looked at you with sincere despair and told you, freedom is not possible.
This is how I know that “Stuck” is an illusion. Because my experience wasn’t unique. Other people were going through something similar, right at the same time I am sure, and simply not feeling stuck. And many people were going through something much worse, and holding up hope, and finding their way through it. And they have, throughout history. Think of what the folks were going through in 1957 when Dr. King said in a speech in Washington, D. C, “Keep moving. Let nothing slow you up. Move on with dignity and honor and respectability.” Consider that. A call to move with honor in the face of unspeakable oppression.
If ever I feel stuck again – if ever I start to get an inkling inside of me that I might be trapped in whatever I’m feeling, the best cure is to look back at all the people in history who have triumphed over that feeling.
It’s not about where we are or what we’re going through. Moving with honor is simply about the mental toughness it takes to break through the illusion of being stuck. And that can happen in an instant. Seriously – the things we think are insurmountable can dissolve without any external effort, only an internal shift in how we look at where we are right now.
Of course, training the mind to break through its illusions easily and on a regular basis does take time. That’s why I show up in martial arts. Whether to my practice at home or classes at the dojo, I have to show up again and again to keep challenging my mind to prove to me: You aren’t really stuck.
Let’s explore that in class this week through these techniques:
Techniques of the Week
| Mon | Tues | Wed | Thurs | Fri | |
| Ukemi | Sokuho Kaiten | Sokuho Ukemi (Break Falls) | |||
| Technique 1 | Moving and Striking through Kamae Set 2 | ||||
| Technique 2 | Ichimonji no Kata | ||||
| Technique 3 | Leaping at Back Angles | Muto Dori no Kata | |||
Kasumi Club (most likely ?): Review Umote and Uda Gyaku
Thanks for reading! See you in the dojo,
Sensei Nesta