How Are You Growing?

Spring is coming.

Flower buds are starting to come up through the soil. Soon, they'll be in bloom.

I once read that the biggest difference between a flower that's alive and a flower that is dead is that the flower that is alive is GROWING, and that the one that is dead isn't growing. Simple, no?

So, aside from the myriad details of your metabolism and the rate at which your skin cells get replaced each day, how are YOU growing — physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally?

We martial artists have a simple and accessible answer — theoretically, anyway: following the budo, we train constantly, so our physical bodies are always adapting and growing. For our mental growth, learning new techniques, memorizing the patterns of kata, or studying martial arts history or philosophy stimulates our minds and expands our knowledge. Our brains literally grow new connections to make sense of all the information we take in. Pushing outside of our comfort zones, and endeavoring to develop a warrior's mindset polishes and grows our spirit. By training with others, and by facing our own limitations again and again, we come to recognize and appreciate the fragility of the human condition. This fosters within us a sense of compassion. Our hearts grow.

But let us not limit our "growth" to what I affectionately call the "white pajama world" inside the walls of our dojo. If our budo training is going to mean anything in our everyday lives outside the training hall, then growth should happen outside the dojo, too. As my UBBT coach Tom Callos is fond of saying, "My life is my dojo."

What are you doing to grow physically between karate classes? Are you walking or jogging regularly? Stretching, or engaging in cross training — or some other form of exercise?

For your mental development (and balance), what books are you reading besides books on the marital arts? Are you involved in a non-martial hobby? Who are you hanging out with? Have you ever done a sudoku puzzle? (This last one is just an example ... I have never done sudoku. Tried it once. It hurt.)

Spiritually, do you regularly find time for meditation, silence, and stillness? A little quiet contemplation goes a long way: I recommend that you sit and ask yourself one big question a day: Who am I? Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where am I going? If the biggest question you ask yourself each day is something akin to "What am I going to have for lunch?" then I suggest that you have some work to do!

Here's a tough question: How do YOU grow your heart? Help others. Serve more. Listen more. Give a compliment. Withhold a criticism. Over-tip. Dance. Make that donation you've been putting off. Call your mom and thank her. Imagine. Better yet, play – and don't keep score.

And I want to be clear: my definition of "growth" goes beyond acquisition of talent, skill, stuff, or information. That's "getting," not "growing." To me, growing involves collection, absorption, study, embodiment, application, and opening yourself up to feedback. A growing flower does not measure itself against some flower standard of perfection, or against the flower next door. It just reaches toward the sun... and attracts the bee.

Growth (inside and outside of the dojo) requires curiosity, humility, desire, and maybe even a sense of adventure. And patience, too. Information absorbed becomes knowledge. Knowledge applied becomes power. Power shared becomes wisdom.

Or … something like that. Yikes... Perhaps I've started to babble a bit.

Enough reading — get out there and grow. Stretch. And don't forget to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while!