Many people ask the question, “What’s the meaning of life?” The Master Instructor of our school, Dylan Sirny, likes to turn this question around slightly to, “How does one live meaningfully?” As humans we always want to know what purpose is there here in this world just for us. We dream and wonder, seek and search, yet has anyone ever really found a truth that answered the meaning of life question definitively and is then at peace for the rest of their life?
Really, in all of history, how many people have truly come to rest with an acceptable answer to this core human question that is asked by all?
While you are pondering this quandary though, life will continue on. History and time will keep on moving with or without us and life certainly isn’t going to stop to let us figure things out. The universe will keep on marching down its infinite path and we will still be left as a sole individual human that has one precious lifetime to exist before we become nothing more than a rippling echo into eternity.
So once again, since we do exist and we have been given some time, how can we make the most of it, and not get lost dwelling on thoughts and ideas alone? Of course our actions are they key!
Upon reaching maturity, everyone must produce something to provide sustenance for their own existence. While you may not be on a farm raising your own food, you do need to eat and have shelter at minimum, and this is not going to happen by waving a magic wand. Work must be done to produce something of value, yet there are distinctions in different types of work. One simple way of looking at things is:
- A Job = any activity that will help you pay your bills
- A Career = an occupation that becomes a long term practice growing in scope, opportunity, and significance
- A Vocation = one’s life work, one’s craft, one’s calling
To us, the soul’s calling and individual’s purpose of existence obviously lives in the realm of a vocation. While we hope that all people can find this in their time spent living, it is our priority to make sure that our students find the strength and skill necessary to make this kind of commitment in their lives, and for our Hwa Rang Do instructors to be solid examples.
Of course any activity could be a vocation and it is simply a matter of perspective that creates meaning. Farming, construction, healing, engineering, artists, musicians, etc, all have noble value being produced – there are multitudes of human endeavors! Yet, has the individual working in that particular endeavor done the reflection and soul searching needed to determine if “that” is their purpose, if “that” is their calling? Every human is unique, each of us is special, and everyone has the potential to bring forth their own special and unique contribution to this world. However, life is a journey and it does take effort to not only discover which path to walk, but also how to express one’s purpose through a particular craft and creative endeavors.
A Hwarang, a Flower Knight, strives to remain mindful of living through meaningful actions. We train so that we develop strength and ability to act as needed no matter the situation, and along the way we hold dear the beauty that surrounds us every day so that the precious nature of life stays in focus.
Remember, we are not interested in simply doing martial arts, we are interested in being martial artists in the fullest sense. This means that, if you are simply looking for a job or even a career, it is probably best we simply wish you well in your journey in the world as being a Hwa Rang Do instructor is not in the cards for you. If however, the above discussion resonates with you, and you are one who is seeking a true vocation, then our accelerated instructor program would be a great vehicle for opening a potential door for you.
THE PARADOX OF OUR TIMES
Is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers
Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints
We spend more, but we have less.
We have bigger houses, but smaller families
More conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees, but less sense
More knowledge, but less judgment
More experts, but more problems
More medicines, but less wellness.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often
We have learnt how to make a living, but not a life.
We have added years to life, but not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back,
But have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.
We have conquered outer space, but not inner space.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted our soul.
We’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We’ve higher incomes, but lower morals.
We’ve become long on quantity but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character;
Steep profits, and shallow relationships.
These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare,
More leisure, but less fun; more kinds of food, but less nutrition.
These are the days of two incomes, but more divorces;
Of fancier houses, but broken homes.
It is a time when there is much in the show window, and nothing in the stockroom.
A time when technology can bring this letter to you,
And a time when you can choose, Either to make a difference …. or just hit, delete.