I am a warrior...

         Looking at this " I am", the first thing that came to mind was I am a peaceful warrior.  How can a warrior be peaceful, you may be thinking?  The peaceful warrior does not seek conflict with others, for they are  at war with themselves.  Last year I posted about my struggles with mental health, mainly depression, and it is that journey, one that I am still on, that made me adopt a warrior spirit.  We all have our demons that we battle, some more obvious than others, and at some point in our lives, we all go through this.  Having a warrior spirit is about being brave enough to face these issues, and try to overcome them, or at the very least, to make peace with them.

        I used to hold a lot of anger and resentment, and I really shielded myself from any meaningful relationship, because I thought isolation made me stronger, not needing anyone.  The isolation also at the time, was to prevent me from being hurt more.  That anger, resentment, and isolation were more like poison that was weakening me.  Clearly I am at a very different part of my journey now, than I was 15 years ago.  It is a testament to how much internal work I've done, and the battles I've fought.  There were a couple of times that I gave in, and even these days I have moments where I lose check of my emotions, but I am better now at recognizing when these changes are taking place, and I can sit with the emotions and work through them before they become destructive.

        My Kung Fu journey has led me places I didn't expect I'd be traversing.  The reasons I started Kung Fu are different for the reasons I stayed and keep with it.  There is a real sense of community, and as much as I love the physical aspect of what we do, I really do, honestly we could be doing something completely different; as long as that sense of community was there.