Each day I study my art, pushing myself to strive to be better than the day before. Each day I’m in search of a better understanding of myself and my art, always striving for perfection. And, each day I know there is no such thing as perfection - it simply does not exist. You may ask, “Then why would you spend so much time seeking something that does not exist?”
For me, the answer is simple. It gives me focus, a purpose, and a reason for waking each day. It gives me a reason to try to do better and helps me to realize that no matter how much I do our how hard I try there is always room for improvement, regardless of how many times I have performed a technique or task. Knowing that no one is perfect allows me to accept the person that I am because I know each day I have done and will do my best. The Samurai called concept this “Learning to die well”. I feel that if I died tomorrow then I have been truly doing my best to be a good person, husband, friend, and teacher to all that I know and have met. I know that I have done my best to leave a positive impact and have tried to give more than I have taken. I will also know that although my life was far from perfect, I did my best and this brings me peace and allows me to see the beauty in imperfection.
So, today at the end of my workout, I sat silently in this imperfect world surrounded by all of my imperfect things contemplating this thought and the love I have for the imperfect life I have been given. While I sat there knowing that in a few moments my Dojo will be filled with imperfect people just like me looking for answers to questions that I dedicated my life to helping them with. I vow to do my best and pray as I do every day for guidance to transmit to them what I have taken from my life-long study of Budo. Life itself is not perfect however we must always strive to do our best each day. That is truly all we can ever hope for and how we might someday find perfection.
-Shihan Ogle
For me, the answer is simple. It gives me focus, a purpose, and a reason for waking each day. It gives me a reason to try to do better and helps me to realize that no matter how much I do our how hard I try there is always room for improvement, regardless of how many times I have performed a technique or task. Knowing that no one is perfect allows me to accept the person that I am because I know each day I have done and will do my best. The Samurai called concept this “Learning to die well”. I feel that if I died tomorrow then I have been truly doing my best to be a good person, husband, friend, and teacher to all that I know and have met. I know that I have done my best to leave a positive impact and have tried to give more than I have taken. I will also know that although my life was far from perfect, I did my best and this brings me peace and allows me to see the beauty in imperfection.
So, today at the end of my workout, I sat silently in this imperfect world surrounded by all of my imperfect things contemplating this thought and the love I have for the imperfect life I have been given. While I sat there knowing that in a few moments my Dojo will be filled with imperfect people just like me looking for answers to questions that I dedicated my life to helping them with. I vow to do my best and pray as I do every day for guidance to transmit to them what I have taken from my life-long study of Budo. Life itself is not perfect however we must always strive to do our best each day. That is truly all we can ever hope for and how we might someday find perfection.
-Shihan Ogle
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