Thursday, July 15, 2010

Lessons from the Martial Arts

Previously, I mentioned a Bruce Lee quotation book that contained some excellent reflections on teaching. Anyone who knows me knows that I will now have to pull on that thread and see where it takes me (or what cloth I pull apart).

So, I went to my other favorite used book store and scoured the martial arts section, looking for any teaching wisdom that I could find. Two books caught my eye - "Martial Arts Teachers on Teaching" by Carol A. Wiley, and "Martial Arts Teaching Tales of Power and Paradox" by Pascal Fauliot.

When I opened "Martial Arts Teachers on Teaching", the first quote I saw said,
"If you follow the present-day world, you will turn your back on the Way; if you would not turn your back on the Way, do not follow the world" - Takuan.
The quote immediately resonated with me, as - according to the reactions I get - I'm the last man on earth without a cell phone. I'm not sure what 'the Way' is, but I'm pretty sure that cell phones are not...

Studies of 'flow' conclude that uninterrupted time is a prerequisite to reaching a flow state in any activity. Surely, it is possible to own a cell phone while maintaining uninterrupted time, but no one I know has succeeding, and it's an experiment I'm uninterested in pursuing.

So, I will 'not follow the world' (with regards to cell phones) anytime soon.
In what ways do you 'not follow the world', in order to find 'the way'?


1 comments:

sports good said...

It is possible to own a cell phone while maintaining uninterrupted time,but no one I know has succeeding...