The Magic Mirror

Aikido is a giant magic mirror.  It allows us to see what we need to see at the right time.

In a previous post [In The Middle Of Now], I recounted how the seminar with Endo Sensei put me back on my feet right after my father's passing.  Many friends have also had the experience of finding strength and comfort at times of great losses.  Aikido cannot bring our loved ones back to life.  Yet, it lets us know that we will survive.  We can handle it and we will be okay.  It shows you love and many important things that you did not even know you have.  The Aikido mat is our sanctuary.  

The Aikido mirror is not only capable of showing kindness.  At other times, Aikido can be a brutally honest mirror that shows you all the flaws in you.  There is absolutely nowhere to hide.  There is no way to not see it, but only a choice of taking the opportunity of changing yourself or not.

Recently, at a dojo gathering, a member openly shared his experiences in his Aikido journey.  Even though he is now a friendly, cheerful pastor and counsellor, he admits that he was a hotheaded young man who engaged in bar fights.  "I have to deal with my past every day I go to Aikido.  I am learning how to resolve my troubled past."  

Most people in his position that I have met tend to talk as if they are some enlightened beings.  They are the Mr or Miss Know-It-All.  They are so wise and virtuous that they are above the mundane struggles of the mortal world.  Not this member of ours.  "At Aikido, wherever I look, I see myself.  I am everywhere.  All my issues, problems, weaknesses.  Argh!  I just have to deal with them one by one."  I find his honesty and courage admirable.  To do so, he has to be quite comfortable with himself.

"Sometimes I come to the dojo feeling really angry." Our pastor member recounts an incident, "One time, I was thinking about issues I had with my mother.  I was so upset.  During practice, Meipo came over to tell me, "Whatever you brought to the dojo with you this evening, you may put it down and leave it for now."  I was really stunned, but that helped me a lot."

I remember the incident, but who knows how I felt that?  My Reiki practitioner's instinct?  Or perhaps an Aikido practitioner's gut feeling?  The important thing is that, in Aikido, he gets to retrieve himself from the intense, entangled feelings and finds serenity.

The fact that the oldest member is willing to open up in front of everybody -- some of whom not even half his age -- to be vulnerable and share his less-than-glorifying personal history also says a lot about the group.  It is a great reflection of the compassion and trust dojo members have for each other.

In this magic mirror of Aikido, I see beautiful, strong, loving people.