I finally feel I have something to write again. This is normally would be regarded as good news but today I'm writing a more critical article. This weekend I discovered something inside myself. Something I always new was there and in fact I have been looking for. I have ranted this formula for years now. We dictate our feelings and thoughts and God dictates the actions of the universe. He has no direct control over our minds. But our minds are forged by the events in our lives. The image jumping to mind is that of a japanese style sword. First the ore (In a powdered state) is dumped into a special oven like fire pit. Here the fire is fed by oxygen , the heat melts the ore and it forms chunks of metal. Those chunks of metal is placed in a block formation wrapped in paper and then shoved into a fire to melt together. Then it is beaten. And folded. And beaten. And folded. And eventually formed into the blade shape. This entire process takes a while.
We take life changing decisions everyday .We are told on a regular basis that life is suppose to be fun and care free. Said who ? We are placed into a fire. A fire that is so hot that it changes who we are. We change on a regulare basis. I know people who started liking seafood overnight. It is true that life happens. Good or bad. We are constantly disapointed because we are told that our train is coming. One day your struggle will end. It wont. Sorry. Its going to be hard. Just when you think nothing can go wrong something will hit you in the face. Losing someone you love. Between all this chaos and uncertainty you are even forced to work. Hard. Study. Evolve personal relationships. Invest in non personal relationships. You take weeks at a time. Day in and day out doing this job. It’s a permanent contract to. This goes on until you are at you maximum stress capacity. Taken out of the fire you are beaten into shape. Something life changing happens. New job. New love. Tax. Jail. A child is born. A friend is taken away. We have no control over the beatings. And there is no stopping it. The only control you have is being good steel. Forming as you should in the fire and hammer. This constant pressure shapes us. We have an ultimate form and person to become. God will make sure that we become that shape. If we do not shape in the fire He will keep us there longer. If we do not fold under his hammer then He will beat us harder. Fortunately for you , you don’t have to like it. Common miss perception. You don’t need to believe in God for him to exist. Sure you can crack under pressure. Feel sorry for yourself and shoot yourself. It is something you can do. You upset the balance of the universe but by that time it isn't you problem anymore. If you do decide to stay tuned it gets better.
When we are in shape we are cooled and polished. We are then treated. If you haven't noticed by now(then you shouldn’t be reading this and this whole sentence is completely redundant. Yay randomness) I am obsessed with talent. Not my own . By the way. Its been “beaten” into me that I am not talentless. “I just don’t know what my talents are”. I know people who are very talented. Their very presence could fascinate you and art talent to bemuse. That is why I think a master who polishes as katana is someone who needs to be respected. A sword is polished with stone .Rough stone first and then finer and finer. Until a drop of water and dust. If you ever get the opportunity (and not tell me I’ll hunt you down) to hold a real katana in one hand a sheet of rice paper in the other you will notice that you can cut a straight line through the paper. Those swords are sharp. The sword is then given to someone who has spent their entire life studying and training to be able to use that sword. Years of physical and mental exercise to make a piece of steel cut through air and make it sing.
I suppose it is very cliché to compare a persons mind and life to the forging of a sword. But to do justice to the smith , the polisher and the master we have to consider doing the following:
Consciously make every decision. Taking into account that every choice you get is life altering permanent and has consequence.
Be the best you can be. Once again very cliché but not doing every thing you can wil make you feel like you lost. No matter how small the event.
Try to have fun . This is hard for some people because to some having fun means getting hammered and dancing into tomorrow. Having fun means to smile at work. Pleasant conversation with everyone around you. Making the place feel nice.
I'm going to stop now since those sound like some spam email. Forward those to ten people in your mail box if you care for the [insert charity here] in [insert country here].
