“What lies around the corner, no one can know. Whether we accept it or not, life is, and always will be, an exploratory journey. As is the case with all exploration, if the unfolding trek doesn’t succeed in killing us, it will almost certainly provide us with instruction. If we want to learn things that others do not know, we need to be willing to do the things that other people do not do.”
- Excerpt from the Rogue Black Belt series.
My travels this year, both domestic and international have highlighted to me that the world is a little more uncertain than perhaps it has been during the decade just gone. To keep it all in perspective though, the world has pretty much always been an uncertain place – for the larger part of man’s history, we have never known what has awaited us around the corner; in short, we are generally short-sighted and have a very poor record of being able to predict the future. It is only when we have lived through a few months, or years of relative stability that we convince ourselves that this is the natural state of the world – when in fact, I do not believe it is. The world is a dynamic environment that is full of surprises and unexpected turns, some pleasant, others, not so. But what is it about us, as a species that has allowed us to flourish and do so well? For my money, it is largely our ability to adapt to rapid change that really sets us apart from other species on the planet. Life is uncertain, we can of course, make plans and have some idea of how our futures might unfold but in embracing our natural talent for adaptation we can more easily roll with the punches that life will no doubt throw our way. Both on and off the mat; we need to embrace this special talent.
JBW
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