By Mike
Massie, author of Martial Arts Character
Education Lesson Plans for Children
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
When I was a child, my family was very poor. We often went
without food at the end of the month, and our utilities were frequently cut
off. Some winters we had no electricity, and our only means of heating our
house was with a kerosene heater. We’d block off two rooms of our house by
placing blankets over the door frames, since the heater was only sufficient to
provide heat to our bedroom and living room. In the summer sometimes our water
would get shut off, and we’d have to haul water by the bucket from the
neighbor’s outside spigot to fill the bathtub so we could bathe.
Back then, I knew things were hard and frankly I was quite
embarrassed at our family’s financial situation. However, as I grew up and
improved my economic situation by starting my own business, I found that those
early experiences made me thankful for the things I had and for what I’d been
able to accomplish. And despite what some people may say about the United
States, I’ve always been proud to be a citizen, and thankful that I was born in
a nation where I had the opportunity to pull myself up from poverty to success.
I thank God every day for my blessings, and it’s because of the hardships that
I’ve faced that I’m so grateful for all I have.
By the same token, the hardships we face in the martial arts
make us more appreciative of our accomplishments, as well as the opportunity
we’ve been given to achieve them. The many long months (or even years) of
practice and effort we invest before each belt promotion or competition victory
allow us to savor those milestones even more. We’re more thankful for those
achievements because we know that we’ve overcome hardships and sacrificed a
great deal to achieve those rewards. Quite simply, our accomplishments mean
more to us because they were difficult to achieve.
In turn, these experiences help us gain perspective so we
can be thankful for the things we have and the blessings we enjoy in other
areas of our lives. I believe this also helps us appreciate others more as
well, especially the sacrifices they might make for us. Knowing what it feels
like to achieve something meaningful and lasting in the face of great hardship
allows us to develop the humility to realize that we have much to be thankful for
in our daily lives. Family. Friendship. Work. Home. Love. The importance of all
things is brought into sharper focus when gazed through the lens of what has
been sacrificed by others in their creation and care.
Moreover, we can also gain an appreciation of what life
would be like without these blessings, since we’ve been able to experience life
before and after achieving something meaningful through great sacrifice.
Imagine for a moment what your life would be like if you couldn’t train in the
martial arts; now imagine what it would be like without family, friends, or
love. The sense of loss is almost palpable when we think about it, so much so
that it hurts to even consider it.
So, this Thanksgiving I encourage you to consider all that
you’ve accomplished in your martial arts journey, and to allow those
experiences to be a reminder of how much more you have to be thankful for every
day of your life. Then, take time to thank those people who are most important
to you, both for the sacrifices they’ve made to be a part of your life, and for
the joy they bring to you as well.
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
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