10 May Living Each Rep
From Stephen Mitchell’s translation of the Tao Te Ching
80
If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don’t waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren’t interested in travel.
There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don’t go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it.
I don’t want to write too much in addition to this passage, but here are some of my thoughts in how I relate to it:
This passage has been in my thoughts lately. For a significant portion of my life I’ve always sought something bigger. I’ve always romanticized the idea of new places, people, or experiences. In my training I’ve always sought to diversify and learn something new. Recently, I’ve begun to feel a shift. My goals have changed and where before I always wanted to push past the horizon now I want to fully discover everything beneath my feet.
My dream in creating the Academy was to stop looking for the “perfect” training environment and instead endeavor to create it. I want to sink deeper into each technique and learn them at a greater depth. I want to know my own home and own school better and see them each day as new and appreciate their differences.
I want to hear stories of how great everything is and die content never having seen it.
Depth over Breadth – Cody