Konnichi wa Badenhop sama.
My name is Scott Bailey. I love your article "the eb and flow of life."
It is very touching, and I hope that many people have the rare luxury of coming to the same realizations and experiences you have been so blessed to have.
I am a martial artist myself, but not anywhere near shi-dan kuroi obi.
I study Isshin Ryu Karate, out of Gettysburg, PA USA.
I speak a decent amount of Japanese, and have been learning since I was 16. My life is pretty fast paced, so my time to learn is limited, unfortunately. I believe that there is so much to discover in life, and that it is our responsibility to constantly try to improve ourselves and grow as people.
The shortest path to oneself is around the world.
-Count Hermann Keyserling, (german Philoshopher)
I desperately have to deal with my raging spirit, that wants to experience 50 lifetimes of wisdom, growth, and experiences. Unfortunately, the place that I'm in life forces me to tread water, but I'm trying to make the best of it. I'm in the Military, which is great, but really holds me back from realizing and converting my true dreams into reality.
I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.
John Burroughs
Once I get home from my current deployment to Iraq, I am going back to college to better myself and get a stronger foothold on life. I would love to do foreign exchange to Japan; but I will not be able to untill late 2012.
I would like to accept any wisdom or advice you can give me, sensei. Your article made perfect sense to me... I often have similar thoughts, but can not always explain them, or translate them into words to express or converse about with friends. And I have next to no friends that would understand either, lol.
Thank you for your time, and I eagerly await your response.
