Well, I wasn't feeling the Emerson Prompts...

So I've decided to use aikiweb.com's Doka of the Day instead.

"To command the forest of enemy blades arrayed before you,
Know that the enemy's spirit/mind is your shield."

                              - Morihei Ueshiba

I figure that I need to meditate more on aikido, as well as practice it more, so this might be a decent spot for some thoughts.  I shall see.  I expect to do some decent exploration on a superficial level, and completely miss the deeper point of the doka.  Between my limited understanding, and what might be lost in translation, the goalposts are set low.

This one seems easy in some senses.  A sword is a sword.  A gun is a gun.  Weapons are inanimate objects, only given a form or purpose by the mind that wields it.  Nearly all aikido practice renounces violence.  In my experience, the greatest benefit of weapons practice is how it magnifies the intention that you bring to the mat.  A shaky focus, an impure strike, poor body mechanics are all magnified by the use of a weapon.

When practicing with a weapon, the one who performs a technique usually needs to create an opening for his opponent to attack.  Without an opening between one of the two partners, the guard is extended, and there is no opportunity for contact.  When the opening exists, and the world begins to move, you react not to the sword, but to the intention behind it, guarding and entering the opening that the attack created.  The truly skilled can continue this dance of connection for a very long time.

Whether in aikido, or in life, you do not react to the blade.  The blade moves as it is intended by your partner.  When they move, when they break the guard, they give you the gift of reading their motives and goals, and create an opening for connection.  With practice and skill, you can engage them in the same way.

Another So-So Prompt

Today's was what would you do with one week to live...

It would be pretty simple-- I would plan a large party, invite all my local friends, have it last until dawn. I would like to spend most of the rest of the week with my family, talking and sharing most everything I could of my life. Finally, to spend the last several hours, day, with my lifemate, and die happily in her arms.

Emerson Writing Challenge

This current reboot was inspired by an Emerson writing challenge that is making the rounds. Of course, I answer one question and become promptly unimpressed by the next two. One involved reframing what you feel your biggest weakness is into a strength, and posting that. That's simple-- I internalize too much, and don't share my fears when they exist. Not very interesting, eh?

The other was where would you like to travel to? More of a writer's block question on LJ, isn't it? It also seems to be an affront to Emerson's philosophy, givn that most of us don't even fully inhabit the places we live. But I look forward to someday visiting Norway and Turkey.

Taking a Challenge -- Day 3

It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

The world is powered by passionate people, powerful ideas, and fearless action. What’s one strong belief you possess that isn’t shared by your closest friends or family? What inspires this belief, and what have you done to actively live it?

I'm extremely worried about peak oil, the end of easy energy, and the failure of our society to plan for the future.  I'm attempting to build personal resilience by relearning old skills, such as making sauerkraut and cooking from basic ingredients instead of depending solely on convenience foods.  In my professional life, I helped plan my company's capital infrastructure plans for the next 10-15 years, including developing an engineering solution which probably made up for my lifetime's carbon emissions.  Otherwise, I'm trying to build community, and help my friends become more personally resilient in the face of a more and more interesting future.