Fall News 2021
"The Practice of initiating a sense of peace
takes you out of the reaction part of mind." KR
Greetings to member and friends,
I hope this note finds you well and healthy. As we shift into the fall, we are blessed with cobalt blue skies and perfect 70-degree temperatures. It evened rained. My garden rejoiced. I feel both grateful for our smoke free air and sorrowful for the suffering of our friends who surround us north and south battling smoke and fire. It’s part of our practice to keep our hearts wide open and send loving energy to those with whom we share this precious planet.
Though the Delta variant of Covid 19 slowed down the initial momentum to go full steam ahead with in-person and mask free training, students and instructors alike have rolled with the necessary restrictions and training is lively and vibrant. We continue to run Zoom and outdoor classes to accommodate those who cannot train indoors, and just as before, perhaps more so, we practice intelligently and respectfully. Many of you have reported that even with the potential problems of Covid always looming, it is exhilarating to be on the mat in action.
Yesterday I sat at the bottom of the stairs with a student after class and listened to his story. His first words caught my attention. “The enforced closure, retreat, seclusion, whatever you want to call it, has encouraged me to study myself anew and ask the question: what have I learned in Covid time? As I wrestle with a restless child, care for elderly parents and elderly animals and work from home, I posed the question to myself at the beginning of each day. The answer was the same: “Appreciate myself!” Regardless of the ups and downs, the highs and huge lows, I know that compassion for myself carries the day.” Though we know that challenges are a natural part of our daily lives, the unknowns we face in this moment are fatiguing, languishing. The risk is how we might slip into indifference without noticing. Having a practice helps us to find that resilience and dignity that is innate in each of us. Having a practice reminds us to reach for that something larger than ourselves in mind and spirit.
‘How do we learn’ and “what do we want to know? I pay attention to how students receive information and I notice how people translate what they see demonstrated into how they move. Recently, a new student reported her experience of Aikido as she watched from the bench, “I was touched by how easy it all looked, then I got on the mat and felt unbearably clumsy. I can’t stop thinking about how I should do it!” With more experience under her belt, she says that it still ‘looks easy ... I’m just in my own way.” It struck me in that moment how monumental is the task of getting out of our own way so we can see and feel without an agenda. How do we clear our palette so we are ready to receive and utilize instruction? The level of sincerity shown on her face was real, authentic and hopeful. She added: “The good news is that the teachers encourage us to make mistakes, in essence experiment and explore without fear of judgement. Better yet, I can truly imagine that one day soon I will let the moves take shape inside of me.”
Lucia Wyss began her training in the art of Aikido when she was 14 years old. She was not only enthusiastic about the dancelike movements, but genuinely curious about the philosophy of deep learning that has guided her into adulthood. She is passionate about how we learn and she cogently speaks to the power of leaning into failure in order to succeed.
“I began training in aikido at 14 and out of all the things I’ve learned in aikido, one stands out as uniquely formative in shaping the adult I became. As a child I was considered academically gifted, put in accelerated classes and generally praised for my skills and knowledge. Like many gifted kids, I became attached to being “good at things” as part of my identity, and by the time I started aikido as a teen, I was generally reluctant to try new things, avoidant of things I considered myself bad at, embarrassed to fail at anything and I gave up easily if I was not immediately successful at something. Then in aikido I was introduced to the concept of beginner’s mind. I learned about belt ranks and found out that Shodan, the first-degree black belt rank, meant that the aikidoist had mastered enough fundamentals to be a beginner in the more profound art and study of aikido. I quickly realized that in aikido, if I felt I had mastered a skill or fully understood what I was doing, it was probably a sign that I was doing something wrong. Counter-intuitively, that turned out to be one of the most liberating experiences of my life. As a teenager anxious to do everything right, I got to feel successful in my incompetence. When I was feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, like I would never be able to do a simple technique correctly, I could reassure myself that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing; learning, trying, persisting; practicing. By reframing struggles as a kind of success in their own right, I was able to take that mindset out of aikido, into other aspects of my life. Aikido has made me more willing to ask for help, admit my ignorance, be seen as a beginner and to try new things.”
Be well, stay safe, see you on the mat.
In spirit,
Kimberly