25 October 2022

"When attack becomes dance, everything is seen as a gift of energy."

That quote sounds great, doesn't it?

Couldn't we all use a little more energy from time to time? I know I could. Right now, for instance, as some still overcome Covid and sit with a blanket over their shoulders, sipping lemon tea and hoping that the next coughing spasm is not as ferocious as the last two, one could use a gift of energy at that very moment. The tickle that started in the nose and chest a few days ago has blossomed into a full-blown, body-wracking cold, complete with chills and fever. If one could replace this with the very opposite of positive ‘energy’ that was equal and opposite, it would render the cough useless in all aspects. 

The Japanese martial art Aikido (known as ‘The Way of Harmony’) which I practiced in my younger years, teaches us to see everything that comes our way as energy to be danced with. By centring downwards through our feet to the Earth and extending our ki (life energy) we connect and blend with the energy of attack, making it a part of us. We redirect the energy away from our centre or ‘core’ as it is known, keeping ourselves and our attacker safe from harm, yet disabling the attacker in their moment of aggression.

How this elegant metaphor ("when attack becomes dance, everything is seen as a gift of energy") applies to situations in our personal and professional lives is a continuing source of study and fascination for me. One of the ways I work at integrating Aikido principles that I learnt into my life is by sharing the philosophy with others. Physical exercise which helps our body to remember how to do things like centre, extend, acknowledge and blend is like that of practicing acceptance of all things that come one’s way when living a life of growth on a personal or professional level. One needs to begin to dance, flow and move with the energy of conflict instead of blocking it in order to succeed and learn in life.

Most of one’s personal conflicts, internal or external, would resolve themselves if one would only take this first step - acknowledge them! But because most see them as negative, one immediately resists by fighting or fleeing the situation. If one can see what comes their way as ‘energy’, with no positive or negative charge (effectively neutral) other than what is given toward it, then one can be more curious about it. As unwanted as it may be, there's definitely more power in dancing with it than in resisting it.

I may not always know what the ‘energy’ offers, but when I can ask the question "Where’s the gift?" I've taken a step in a new direction. To do this is like trusting in the unknown knowing that even if the pathway disappears ahead as I travel it figuratively speaking, or the road becomes bumpy in the ride and that there is no defined reason why it happened, I remain in trust of the ‘energy’ that is brought with me. To do this, I know in some way that as I walk the path of life, I come closer to a sense of ‘balance’ and that is certainly the way of Aikido and in walking ‘The Way of Harmony’.