Moments of hardship

The other day I was watching this short video, in which Pema Chodron, sheds light on our tendency to resolve things from the outside, rather than from within us.

It made me think how I sometimes try and control the whole world around me, and adjust things outside me and not from within. This brings me to think about injuries in my practice, and the choices made on how to handle them. An injury brings us to hardship; frustration, inconvenience, and pain.

An injury is like a rest in music. The musical piece cannot not be exist without rests. One element completes the other, and make it whole. Our training will not be complete unless we encounter moments of hardship. Injuries present us with an opportunity to make a choice on the type of rest we will take. In cases of injuries or illness, many of us choose to be off the mat. Often, I see students who choose to take a few weeks off the mat, as well as away from the Dojo.

We have to remember that there are many ways of dealing with hardship, and as Pema Chodron said, we usually choose to deal with outside adjustments rather than the internal adjustment. To face our hardship, and find ways to train our mind to work though a hardship, will bring about greater presence and many benefits.

I know a person that was injured seriously, and broke his arm, that chose to be on the mat, working on one side only, on his uninjured side. I know another person, who underwent a major surgery, that was not able be on the mat, yet physically attends the Dojo regularly and watches classes, learning through Mitori Geiko (observation practice). This inspires me.

Our hardships have a gift to give us; will we choose to cover the whole world with leather, or simply put our shoes on?

images of the new space

We completed building our new Dojo, and now we are celebrating its newness.

Photos by Roger Hoffman

Homeless bound

I had no idea on how homelessness was so close to home. I've lived in Granada Hills for almost seven years now, and drove almost daily through the busy shopping center on the Northeast corner of Balboa and San Fernando Mission Boulevards. Right in between the Jack in the Box and behind the Trader Joe's store there is an island, full of bushes. The bushes were full and quite tall, and used to be the home of some people. Yet, most of Granada Hills residents were not aware of that, and so was I.










The first time I noticed this was when I opened my Aikido school, on San Fernando Mission, and started walking to my bank across the street. As I was passing by, I heard people talking, and then saw a few chairs in between the bushes, with people on them, talking and drinking. The next time, one early morning, I noticed the sleeping bags, and even a mattress. I started seeing them walking around; we would greet each other and exchange some words. They would check out the progress on our Dojo construction, and share their opinions. One of them insisted he will bring us business, by sending his six daughters to classes.

I already got to accept my little discovery as a permanent element of the Dojo's environment, and was taking the interaction with them as opportunities to sharpen my practice of compassion and acceptance. Saying Hi every time I passed by the bushes, and exchanging smiles.









Yesterday morning I was surprised to see that all the bushes got trimmed back, exposing a naked view of the few belongings and raw lifestyle. The mattress, plastic bags, and trash, were quickly collected into a pile, and then thrown into a big garbage truck, and disappeared. The last signs of life of the bush people colony, is now a simple parking lot island, with some trimmed bushes on it.

Now I can't decide which one I like better...