By Zochi Whenever, I’m feeling lost and defeated and don’t know what the next step is there is a gosepl song “ We Fall Down, But We Get Up” that springs forth in my head and reminds me falling is sometimes a part of the rhythm of life. In our falling or failing it is a time to reflect, to listen, and meditate on how we got to this point. We must “give into lost”. Yet it is in our rising that teaches us resilience, that we have a greater capacity than we once thought and it pushes us forward once more. My visit in Colorado, was particularly a significant reminder and life changing experience. It showed me what it means get up and return to center again and again – when my teacher for 48 years honored me with a second degree Black Belt in our discipline. This was no small feet of honor. Instructor does not just hand out black belts like water and to recieve it at this moment of my life reminded me – I have more work to do. Yes, in a couple of lifetimes I have received many accolades in my life but, in some way this was the holy grail for me. You see, I had begun this journey with Instructor Kajana when I was a teen. He had been a major catalyst in my journeys around the globe. Somehow through his teaching and stories he had sparked the question that haunts me today “how can we humans evolve to our full potential?” As a teen he opened me up to a world of possibilities. And demonstrated to me what it meant to be in the embodied role of a teacher. I retraced his trails and tales which took me all over the world seeking to meet his teachers in order to be the best parts of this man who I truly admired. Of course being on the same trail does not mean having the same experiences, yet slowly with the protective spirit of the divine universe, ancestors, and a little insanity of will, I quilted my own set of experiences, successes and failures that crafted and molded me into a teacher somewhere along the path. But nothing happens by just chance and the belt that I received is not about what I have accomplished but about the work that still lays ahead of me. I had witnessed the Instructor’s journeys. There were no easy roads. He was and is driven to build something unselfishly larger than himself. Something that is monolitihic and will open the doors and opportunities for others. An experience that will support healing and cause no harm. To assist others to step onto the path to transform themselves and in doing so the world. He has sparked this flame in me and once you have the bug it haunts you. When Instructor Kajana handed me my belt I understood what he had laid at my feet with honor. We both shared the same vision and love of our communities. I think he knew that I will continue his legacy and work on the continent as a teacher for several generation into the future. So, I bow in respect to this great and wonderful teacher and those teachers who have come before me of whom I share this enormous responsibility. This honor has comes at a time when I had begun questioning if I was the right person to move the work I am struggling to do in Africa. Now, when I put on the belt I know I am not alone in this endeavor. My brothers and sisters stand beside me. I guess this is a nod by the universe to stay on the path and that falling down is only a path of testing the human spirit, So, once more I rise in the face of loss and adversity knowing that there is much work to do. We fall down but, we get up. It is the spirit and nature of this art that we practice. #movementmasters #gettingup #InstructorKajana #Tenesu #Rise
