Sometimes, I feel like I am floating in time.  Have you ever felt that way? I catch a glimpse of the past at a random moment.  It happened recently.  I realized that it has been nearly two years since I moved from Florida, where I had lived since 1981, to Tucson.  It brought back memories of stepping off an airplane and taking a cab to an Airbnb where I lived for a couple of months, then rented a house, all without my family for the first six months.  During that time, I practiced Tai Chi in my small dwelling, climbed the 3.0-mile round trip of Tumamoc Hill on Saturdays, and sat in wonder at the nearby mountains.  It was a time of quiet reflection, simplicity, but with a longing for home and family.

These recollections run parallel with my martial art practice.  In fact, martial arts gave me the ability to pick up and move from a place I lived most of my adult life for something better even though the change felt unfamiliar, scary, and difficult.  It was a similar risk to earning a black belt. Some say that earning a black belt is just the beginning of a journey and not the end of one, and that is true.  What lead up to that black belt, the blood, sweat and tears, helped me find out who I really am.  I am not a shy, timid person afraid to try (such as in my youth and young adulthood), but a woman eager to finally be unafraid. Some time later, I tested for my second-degree black belt while pregnant with my second child.  I understood then that even motherhood runs parallel with martial arts practice.  A child grows through many stages, like moving from white belt to black and then embraces new and exciting challenges when ready.

All these thoughts occur to me in the blink of an eye.  These highlights of my life are the moments from which I learned the most.  The struggles and fears either inhibit you or they drive you forward until you recognize that they are not struggles or fears at all, but simple, concise moments in time that make you who you are.  I tested for many martial art belts leading up to my black belt and each time fear washed over me as I stood in the midst of my peers and instructors until I took a few breaths and faced the moment head on.  Martial arts changed me.  They gave me the gift of floating in time; or more simply put, using the past to understand my future.

Today I remind you to embrace the moments that mean the most to you.  Appreciate all your experiences, good and bad.  Accept that you are not perfect and that you are not meant to be.  If floating in time has taught me anything at all, it is that there is no room for regret, fear, or worry. When you find yourself daydreaming, maybe even floating in time, take it all in.  After all, these moments created something very significant and meaningful. They created you.

xoxo

Andrea

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