The approach

You surely remember the argument of the glass of water…
Is the glass-half full, or is it half-empty?
And you surely also know the innuendo behind it…
If you see it as half-full in means you are an optimist and if you see it as half-empty you are a pessimist.
But still, the talk and argument goes on and on, trying to figure out which one of these two views is the correct one, and in effect, what our attitude is, in the approach of life.
Shall we be reckless and daring or shall we be reserved and careful?!

I had never taken side on this one, neither the former nor the latter, and why should I?! And whenever I was asked I simply replied: “I don’t know”. You are familiar with this phrase, aren’t you? Because the “I don’t know” phrase is an axiom that is slowly becoming extinct… More and more we are forced to have an opinion on everything, and even if this opinion is later proven to be hot air, you can afford to simply gaze at the roof, pretending that everything is fine!
So, the story goes on… Is it this or is it that, is it black or is it white, is it wrong or is it right…
Read my lips, I don’t know until I know! Period…
Or else, it won’t consist lack of character or lack of knowledge on my part, if I don’t comply with your insistence for an answer… But it surely is a verbal blackmail on your part, giving me the breeze.

Having that said, I must admit that lately I found out the correct answer to the half-full half-empty glass of water! It took me some time I admit, but from a point on, when I am asked, my reply is the following:
“While people were trying to figure out which glass of water is the correct one… I drank it”

Don’t let people intimidate you, pushing you into a dead-end, a labyrinth or a pit full of lions, and then ask of you to tell them what the right thing to do is!
Just say I don’t know and, more importantly, feel comfortable about it…
(Falling a victim of my own example, if you ever fall into a lion pit make sure you are properly covered with Elephant pee!)

When you are, a considerable time, active in the Martial Arts you will be constantly bombarded by a number of questions, which you either won’t or can’t answer… And for some funny reason, they appear in a particular order, just one right to the next, and they are constant like the Northern star.
One is: “Have you ever had to use your skill for real”
Intending to be polite and reply somehow, the mind pauses here for a moment, because particularly Aikido, is very “real” when properly practiced at the Dojo. In fact, as Morihiro Saito Sensei states elegantly in one of his books, Aikido at the Dojo is far more demanding than a fight on the street…
But you cannot reply that to the person who is asking you, can you? Because you know what is being asked… So, the mind remains in the previous pause mode, no words coming out of your mouth because, come ooon… you cannot answer something like this! No true warrior would ever verbally waste anything that he did in a hand-to-hand confrontation. It’s better to remain in that awkward mind pause…
The other question is: “What would you do in a case when…” …and you can fill the dots with anything your imagination comes up with. For your information, personally I was even asked once what would I do in the case of an Alien invasion. I guess I would give them a handshake, with one of those electrocuting devises hidden in my palm, and then see what happens!
So, there is a lot of mind pause here, too.
Regardless of how good one is in his Martial skills, he can never know how things are going to unfold, until the moment they do. And even then you will not “know what to do”, you will simply do it without thinking…

When training in Aikido, or another equivalent Art, we do expect certain results from our practice. And from the looks of it, other people who don’t practice, expect from us to be effective and efficient…
In most cases, their questions are normal, but the paradox is that they produce abnormal answers, if they are to be answered.

A student usually thinks of what it is he wants, from his Martial Art…
And thus, it is easy to forget what his Art demands from him…
One of the most serious neglects that we can do lies in our approach. We rush in, to take what we want… And we take it. But if our approach is not correct, we will lose much more than we have taken. And then it is too late to change our approach.
Some say, it is never too late. But this is more wishful thinking than anything else. A much more careful look reveals far too many accomplished Masters, who nevertheless carry with them all those uncorrected weaknesses, which should have been left behind…

So, one might put the question, what is the right approach…
And there is a moment of pause in my mind, and I look up to the ceiling.
And my reply is: “I don’t know… Maybe it is both being daring and careful according to what is at hand?!”

Last but not least…
What was first, the egg or the chicken?!
If you ask me, I don’t know! It is too late for me to find out, because I barbecued the chicken and I made an omelet!

September 9, 2016