Back in the Dojo

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A while back I wrote a post about getting back into my karate practice – how after many years away, it seemed like the right time to get back into a karate-gi, join a karate club, and actually start practicing again. That journey continues, much to my amazement.

And now it’s time to get back into a different dojo – back into a place where I can create, write, share some of my thoughts. It’s not been an easy time for me, the last few years, and sometimes my disorganised and chaotic life feels like this:

I do not have ‘ducks’. I do not have ‘a row’. I have squirrels. And they’re at a rave.

But maybe, just maybe, I can get my life sufficiently in order to be able to create something. And maybe, if you’re reading this, maybe a long dormant dream can awaken for you, too. Perhaps this post is as much for you as it is for me…

A while ago a very wise woman said to me:

“I foresee a surge of people who need to be given hope and be uplifted and search for possibility from the seeming chaos..the sparks of potential that haven’t come to light yet, but are already forming. When you stand in that sliver of space that is completely and utterly you, then you are awesome, magnificent, wonderful.. and when you pull from the scattered pieces those that depict what is true for you, tune into the melodies of your heart and tug on the fibres of your being..they will reform into something that is destined for you to be doing, experiencing and giving to the world – your sliver of space will emerge as you do.

You need to make a commitment, and as you do, life will give you some answers.”

I’ve held on to that quote for years now, and it feels as alive now as it did when she first wrote to me. And perhaps, now, it’s time to make a commitment, and let life give me some answers.

We want, always, to have the answers before we make the leap, before we jump into the unknown, before we start on something new. But life doesn’t work like that. We have to make the leap, take the risk, step through the door before we know how it’s going to work out.

So here’s a commitment.

I commit to writing at least one blog post here every week. Thoughtful, I hope, maybe even insightful. Or maybe not. I may not have answers, but I sure do have questions. I’m still on a journey. I’m still just a student on the path of life, and that’s why this blog is called ‘Thoughts On The Way’. And I commit to restarting my journey exploring the Tao Te Ching and posting my thoughts on each chapter once a week too.

How’s that for a plan?

Now in the interests of being open and honest, I’m not writing this for you. I’m writing this for me. For me to explore my path. For me to understand what I feel, what I know, what I believe. For me to try in all humility to answer the questions that I face. But maybe you have those questions too. Maybe they will find a resonance in your being, some echo in your own soul. If they do, then that’s wonderful. If they don’t, well, just pass on by. It’s OK.

So here I am, starting again. Let’s see what happens.