As a teacher there are times when it all seems worth it. When a troublesome white belt all of a sudden, “gets it”, when you can see the light turn on and a student completes a technique that has been giving them heartache.

Sometimes this happens with back to back to back students and other times it seems like you are not making any progress with anybody. Time passes, you question your teaching methods, you try some new things, you ask for guidance from some senior students. This is growth, this is learning to enjoy the plateau. There is satisfaction in reaching a goal, and then the ambition to move on. We all experience this from white belt to Master, to Grandmaster.

We have to stay diligent, enjoy the journey, and savor the “gets it “times.  When you least expect it you receive a compliment, or a gift saying we respect what you are doing, we are listening, we are reading, we are advancing, we are learning.

Keep up the journey, remember the Tao, a journey of a thousand steps begins with the first one. We continue to teach, to mold, to help students along their own private journey and we will, if we have the patience, receive the benefits along the way.

Take a step back, remember where you started, look at some of your own obstacles that you have experienced and apply those to your present state of mind. Enjoy the moment, open the Dragon Book and write, teach, apply, and continue the journey.

John W. Rankin