I had a post by a member asking me a personal question...basically dealing with a broken heart. I know all you bad boys of the martial arts have had your hearts broken...at least once. Thought I would post my reply.

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Cry.

When I was about 8 yrs old, my teacher died in a car accident. To me, she was a surrogate mother...and I loved her with all of my heart...more than my own mom (my poor mother...she was never jealous over this). Anyway, I remember the day I found out. It was literally like being plunged into darkness...like the sun being turned off.

I must have cried for days...I don't recall. But I do remember my mom, at one point, telling me that I 'have to stop crying. She will hear you and won't be able to go to heaven.' I could imagine her spirit hovering over me, so I hid my tears.

I stopped crying...and didn't cry again for more than 30 years. And I had things happen that I should have cried about. Learn to grieve. Learn to see what you are experiencing, and to accept it. It won't kill you...although you may wish you were dead. At some point, you realize the sun still comes up everyday, and you learn to appreciate that warmth on your face.

I'll tell you a secret: great insight, kensho, awakening, spirituality...whatever you want to call it...is not possible without great sorrow. Love brings us pain...and surprisingly pain brings us compassion for others...which in turn opens us up for spiritual awakening.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted"

One of the first things I did when my grandfather died was make time to cry. My heart was broken. He had sacrificed so much so I could try and secure my future, and he never got to see one success from that. I cried for days on end.

The day after he died, I had a tournament. It was to be one of my last. I dedicated my kata to him. I placed. Before the tournament, between kata and sparring, and after the tournament, I could do nothing by cry. It is cathartic to cry, and we are able to deal with the emotions when we cry.

Beautiful, Harlan.

I've buried two friends in a year from damned cancer. Funny thing is, having shed a few tears, I now laugh when I think of them.

What does haunt me tho, is the memory of their kids... losing parents at a young age. Even my tears can't always dry theirs.

hey,
Great stuff, it seems that sometimes in the MA were can avoid, deny or just forget the pain in our lives and lose what makes us so unique as individuals. Impressive
CrossTraining

I think part of it is somewhere in our MA training we find the button to hold our emotions and feelings so we can 'do the job'. I know that there are times when I have to switch off all outside influences and concentrate on what I need to do, whether it is MA related or not.

good point, sometimes focus requires that of us. Do you find that you switch off the emotions and then later return to what you where feeling or do you keep them switched off?
CrossTraining

Christie, well done. Sorry to hear of your loss.
Yep, finding the right time is also a special thing.