Sometimes in life, if you don’t check yourself, someone else will. Tonight, I was training in a session that I don’t usually join, with various people I don’t usually train with. The coach was new to me, the warm-up was different, the teaching technique was different, and the class was different. It was still really enjoyable and a great class, but all new to me.

After finishing our drilling, we began to roll. I had a couple of decent rolls and then got smashed consecutively for two rolls over 10 minutes by one of the black belts, it quickly reiterated where I’m at in my journey and the work required to achieve that level of expertise, a level I do aspire to achieve.

This session most certainly checked me, and I definitely felt humbled and grounded, both in my pursuit of understanding and skill within Jiu-Jitsu, and in my ability in life. I tried to attack when I shouldn’t have, to move into positions I shouldn’t have, to be more aggressive than necessary, and found myself out of my depth in this realm. I didn’t take anything negative away from that experience at all, I actually felt empowered walking out of the gym.

I think sometimes we are looking for something, but we may not even know what it is, but by instinct we search, and the universe presents it. I’ve been off a bit lately, some issues in my personal life have lead me to question certain elements of my life and it’s trajectory and I was looking for something, that something turned out to be a passage of struggle, a humbling experience, reflection, and subsequent reiteration of my own aspirations and objectives for my life, and life as a collective.

Being checked in any realm, I feel, is a universal truth presented for us to decipher and use as we choose. Being grounded, humbled, and presented with a reflection of understanding is a blessing, and one that has the power to transform us in the most profound and powerful ways. When we are checked in life, sometimes it may be nothing, and it’s important to look at it as such. However, sometimes it may be something deeper to assist in our direction and course of life. This is potentially an invaluable contributing factor in our search for happiness.

Thanks,

Dean