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David 講師のコラム

Having no fixed plans in the Rokko Mountains and 'going with the flow'

2017年12月14日

'Going with the flow'

 

Yesterday we set out with the loose intention to climb Mt.Maya in the early morning.

It was a beautiful hike, and within one hour we had already come across three beautifully powerful waterfalls!

The range of mountains we were on is huge, and there are many peaks spanning over 20km. After two hours we realised that we were not actually heading in the right direction, and were in fact lost in this vast mountain range!

 

We carried on in the hope that we would reach another peak if we kept on travelling, and changed our plans. To have a goal which is fixed in your mind is one way we can experience sadness and disappointment if it doesn’t go as you had hoped, but to be able to continue without concern for where you end up, and simply enjoy the journey is a difficult skill to cultivate!

Three hours later we finally made it to the top of a peak, with beautiful views of the city down below. We took some photos and had some food, before noticing the sign for the mountain saying - ‘Mt.Maya!’ 

We had somehow taken almost six hours and a discovered a wonderful peaceful route, spanning a few mountains and still ending up our originally intended point.

If we had been unable to reach this peak, I wouldn’t have been too disappointed as I try not to get too attached to set plans in my life. I like to keep my mind flexible, and move with my life circumstances in order to do whatever is suitable at the given time.

 

Had we decided to turn back when we realised we were lost, we would have missed out on all the peace and silence that this hike enabled us to experience. We saw so many wonderful things, and as it wasn’t the main route and was a very cold day, we saw very few people over the course of day.

 

It is important to keep a flexible open mind, and respond to what happens around you. Bruce Lee described poetically in one of his movies (Enter The Dragon) how a solid tree will break and fall down in the strong winds, but a flexible tree branch such as bamboo, despite being very thin will simply bend with the wind and spring back in to place when it stops. 

I feel that this is an excellent metaphor to live by and am working hard achieve this level of internal flexibility in my own life.


This is what I like to call 'going with the flow' and letting life take you wherever it feels appropriate. This is reflected in many cultures such as buddhism, and Taoism where they talk about the 'watercourse way'. Never resisting and straining against what is happening, as it is at this point which we experience stress and sadness.


This does not mean aiming to achieve things in your life. People often misunderstand the meaning of the watercourse way, and write off all forms of eastern thought because of this. Instead it means simply being able to react with what life throws at you, and 'allowing' the journey to take place, rather than continually fighting hard against something when it is not working out for you. 


An example of this would be the owner of a business who has had success for many years, but enjoys running his business from a shop in the city. He refuses to move with the technological age, and does not want to have an online shop or a website. Because of this, his sales go down every year, while other businesses which have an online presence are taking over. He is resisting unnecessarily, and it is causing him stress and losing him money. Eventually he will lose his business and will go bankrupt, but instead if he moved with the current situation in the world, he could keep his shop AND have an online store and could have kept the business he loves. He has essentially 'self sabotaged' himself, and destroyed his own plans by being too narrow minded and 'stiff' or 'rigid' in thought.

This is one way we can be flexibile and adaptable like the bamboo Bruce Lee so intelligently referred to.

‘A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving’ - Lao Tzu, Taoist Philosopher


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I am a highly experienced professional English teacher, Yoga Instructor, Tai Chi teacher, Nutrition Consultant and Personal Trainer from London, UK. I recently left London to work and travel around Japan on a Working Holiday Visa with my best friend and longtime girlfriend Ashley (who is also a teacher on Cafetalk : https://cafetalk.com/tutors/profile/?id=54542&lang=en ). We love sharing adventures travelling, teaching, exploring and understanding new cultures. We hope to speak with you soon!

If you would like to follow my travels on instagram, and see where we are in the world you can do so here:

https://www.instagram.com/pb_fitness_zen_yoga/?hl=en - My personal page

or

https://www.instagram.com/thisnihonlife/ - The travel page for my girlfriend and I

Please check out my lessons if you are interested in learning real, authentic British English, or have an interest in Yoga, healthy eating or general health and fitness.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions, or if you would like to schedule a lesson at a time in which my schedule is not open. I will always do my best to accomodate every student.



本コラムは、講師個人の立場で掲載されたものです。
コラムに記載されている意見は、講師個人のものであり、カフェトークを代表する見解ではありません。

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