Sunday, January 17, 2021

When We Are No Longer Able To Change A Situation...


 

8 comments:

  1. And that summarizes my reaction to 2020. To wit:

    I can't fix every problem I encounter => I have more time now.
    I can't make someone do anything => I have a quieter headspace.
    Brain injuries change you => I have new limits and new unexplored territory.

    OODA Loop, it's a way of life.
    Adapt, Improvise, Overcome, not just for breakfast anymore.
    God is bigger than my troubles. Give Him room to work.
    Hold on loosely. Laugh about it when it's funny.

    2021 looks like: My civilization is becoming uncivilized. Where do I stand, where do I give ground? At what point do I....?

    Life is a constant.... 'adventure', no?

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    1. STxAR, the Japanese term you are speaking of is Oyojutsu, literally the art of overcoming. It has probably always been true, but now so more than ever. As you correctly list, with every change, even the ones that are negative, there is a positive aspect to be found.

      An uncivilized civilization. I will need to ponder that point more.

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    2. When I was practicing Kung Fu, we had an exercise called sticky hands. We'd hold a horse stance, or move through stances, with a partner. We'd put the backs of our hands together and then move them around, think wax on wax off. The object was to not lose contact and not use much pressure. After a bit, it became clear that lead and follow was being passed back and forth effortlessly. Then we graduated to eyes closed sticky hands. Life is like that. Some things intrude, and you have to make way. Some retreat, leaving space. Oyojutsu makes sense to me like sticky hands. It goes beyond anticipation, to that shadowy place of intuition and sensitivity. Knowing when to make way, when to advance, when to stand still... More art than science...

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    3. STxAR, we have a similar practice for kumitachi (Paired waza) where at the end of the technique the blades touch and maintain contact until each practitioner moves back. It is the same concept: maintaining light pressure, we are instantly made aware when something changes.

      It is the realm of intuition and sensitivity. It is where the great masters are always able to anticipate the move of an opponent because they see the origin of every move.

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  2. I guess I have a bad attitude, I'm not changing.

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    Replies
    1. Jeff, there are situations and situations of course. In the case of Frankl, he is writing from a place of being in a Nazi Concentration Camp.

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  3. That is where many of us will be, no matter what, under the new regime.

    Be safe and God bless.

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    Replies
    1. Or change how we respond to others and government - which is, in itself a sort of change for ourselves.

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