I've been a little serious, so I thought it was time to mix things up. On the count of three-- ready?Now, breathe in, one, two, three . . .
Then breathe out, one, two, three.
There, feel better now? I know I do!
But the truth is, I truly love karate.
It takes me out of my comfort zone each and every time. It pushes me beyond what I think I can do. It empowers me.
All that and kick-butt workout, too. Literally and figuratively, lol.
When I was around nine years old, I took Judo for a while. It was so hard that naturally, I wanted to quit. My mom, a single, older mom, naturally let me quit. She was far beyond arguing with me over activities I didn't want to do.
"It's your life," she'd say to me whenever I wanted to do something she didn't approve of. Including quitting dance, piano, girl guides, and yes, even skipping school.
As a grown up, I've had to work hard to undo this life lesson that my mom taught--that you could quit whenever the going got tough. Because, of course you and I know as adults, that you can't sluff the hard stuff.
Karate represents this un-learning that I am doing. Every time I show up in my GI, I've won. I'm a winner every single time.
But if I work hard, kick a little higher, ki-ai a little louder, or remember my form, then I've won again. So the whole class is a series of challenges and each time I have the opportunity to be a winner. I come out on top, each and every time.
What's not to love about that?
Ai-yah!
