Remember to be Grateful

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”

I saw this on a childhood friend’s Facebook and decided it was time to write another blog entry. This is one of those little nuggets of wisdom that is easy to say and very hard to follow. After all, how can a starving little boy be grateful for his hunger? I suppose you could say the hunger might motivate him to work for a better life… there’s also a number of religious arguments that can be made here… but you know what they say, if you want to lose all your friends, talk politics or religion.

However, because the subject of this blog is martial arts, I’ll take this quote and tell you what I thought of first when I read it. I thought of all the sit-ups I dole out to the kids, and how they groan when they have to do them. If only I could tell the kids to be glad that their parents are investing the time and money to enroll them in a quality extracurricular activity; that their parents (for the most part) see the value in all we teach – not just self-defense but compassion, discipline, focus, and perseverance…

I also thought of the adults whose excitement over a new technique often gives way to frustration over the effort required to learn it…

Maybe next time I’ll tell them: Remember to be grateful that you even have the opportunity to struggle.