Time Ticks On…

The concept of time is the simplest yet at the same time, the most complex to grasp. Time is very basic. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, time only moves in one direction; forward. We are all subject to the laws of time. We are all born, we all age and one day we, like those before us, will die.

As martial artists, I believe we often think about life and death more than the average person due to the nature of our training. Simply put, if you work as a car mechanic every day, you are more likely to look at the concept of an engine in daily life and apply the principals often. The same is true of martial artists. We apply the principals of life and death to our everyday lives. This is not to say that martial artists injure or kill on a regular basis; in fact, I would sincerely hope that we would be among the last to resort to lethal techniques but still, we ‘train' using these techniques daily and therefore it is natural to assume that we think about the more often than the average person.

With that in mind, I have recently been thinking more and more about life and death and my place in the world. I have concluded that before seriously considering one’s own mortality, the most important thing is to come to terms with the inevitable. One day I’m going to die, we all are. We are nothing but dust in the wind. But that alone isn’t enough…as humans, we commonly view death as a far off event…way in the distance. Like looking across a misty lake; you know what’s out there but it’s just out of view. To accept ones mortality, we must realize that every day we exist is a gift, that today may be our last and that despite that fact, there is nothing to fear from tomorrow.

We all make plans for tomorrow, next week, next year…me included. I’m not saying making plans is wrong but I was listening to a song the other day and the songwriter put it far more eloquently than I could have…’Every plan is a tiny prayer to father time…’ he said. This one statement ignited my imagination and gave me the inspiration for this post. We all pray for life in our own way. Whether it be by actual praying, making plans or simply assuming we will be here tomorrow.

Once death is understood and accepted, one can begin to truly appreciate life. Life is made far more wonderful by one simple fact, it doesn’t last forever. The world will never be as perfect as it is right now and this moment in your life will never exist again. When you look around at the world take a moment to appreciate its wonder. We are sat on a hunk of rock floating through mostly empty space yet we, as humans, are surrounded by beauty. Death comes to us all…but so does life…you only live once and only for a short time in the grand scheme of the universe. Live every day like it is your last. Every morning you wake, be thankful you have more time to appreciate the world and when you face the end, face it knowing no fear and no regret, instead, face it with pride for the life you have lived…