Victory!!

Obama wins!  Well, does the world seem different?  Let's see....the Dow just fell 400 points, the war is still going on, the victims of Katrina still haven't all been helped yet, global warming is still occurring.........but there is one thing that was not in the air before...and that is Hope...a new wind is blowing...make no mistake it will be a monumental task to right the boat that Bush has sunk.   while Obama won....prop 8 the anti-gay initiative won.....bigotry is still big in this country......and too often it is the adversarial stance of Americans........you would think those for democracy would learn to be tolerant of differences....isn't that what the constitution is all about?  Yet you might think about it....it is because we are taught to think this way........it's all about; either/or, your country/my country, your religion/my religion, right/wrong, black/white.........everything is a matter of only two sides.....where in real life is this true.....in fact there are no absolutes it depends on your point of view.....................what's right for one moment is wrong for another........we need to be flexible and learn to unite all who can be united.....the common good is more important than just being right at this moment....because that is constantly changing......a Taoist point of view.  Even in Taiji all too often my students get stuck  with: that movement was wrong...you are wrong..................when one learns Bagua you realize that it depends!  Students often have a hard time with: the form is this way the first time you learn it then different the second time.......well it's because you have reached a different level in your understanding and in your practice....a different skill level.........alot of students ask why can't I just jump to doing bagua in a circle.......and again it's because their are different skills to be acquire first.......and things change as you progress......nothing stays the same........in fact no two person's bagua is exactly the same.......because we are all different.....you might be physically different from me, or you favor different techniques.......as long as the principles are observed you can have it your way! 

To be the best we can be we must learn to work together......otherwise, we will succumb to global warming, become victims of a ruined economy, become narrow minded and isolated....and even on the martial arts front we will impede our ability and that of our classmates to improve......in the end the macrocosm...society is reflected in the microcosm......ourselves, in our lives, and in our thinking.

Time for change has arrived.....let's go foward together!  Peace you all!!