I learned on the mat. Okay, probably not, but I have learned some really important lessons that I can take off the mat apply in my life. What I hope to accomplish here is to write my thoughts after every class, if possible, and track my progress as well as leave reminders for the future when I may need to hear something again.
it is said that if you study and practice a subject for just 15 minutes a day, every day, that you will become an expert in that subject. Lately I have become dissatisfied with my progress at the dojo, mainly because of my inability to keep attending in a regular fashion. I go for a couple of weeks, then I get hurt, or in this last case, go to the dentist, and I’m out for 2 weeks or so. I can’t progress regularly doing this.
It’s been a very strange day for me. I received a call shortly before I left the house after lunch - my grandmother, my last remaining grandparent, my father’s mother, passed away this morning from natural causes. My grandfather had passed sometime ago. Being the oldest surviving member of the family, my father now becomes the patriarch of our extended clan. Not that that means much these days, especially with a family as large and far flung as his has become. He has many brothers and sisters spread across the US now, and doubtless I have many cousins I have never met.
In many neo-pagan religions, today is Imbolc, which the Catholics have borrowed and now refer to as Candlemas. In Wicca, this day is dedicated to the Irish goddess Brigid, Goddess of Poetry, Smithcrafting, and Healing. There are many associations for today, and even now a fraction of these traditions have been passed down and changed into what Americans refer to as Groundhog Day.