Learning to Let Go

As a sword instructor, I know that I will only truly be the best I can be in my art when I learn to let go and get out of the way of myself, my perceived limitations, and the worries that bog me down. Staying in a state of No Mind, where I can let go of the incessant chit-chat inside my head has been a constant struggle for me. My logical mind has served me well in most everything I have done, yet I must have the trust and faith that letting it go will only make me better in the sword arts – and everything else for that matter! Trusting that I can function successfully without its help is easy to say but hard to actually accomplish. There are the good days when it all falls in place, and I let my body react intuitively. I feel good on those days and end them believing that I’ve finally conquered the long awaited ability to act and react without relying on slowness of my thought process. I bask in the tremendous feeling of success and accomplishment that in the past so often eluded me. Then another day begins, and I’m back to behaving the same old, comfortable way. I guess I’m thankful that I still have a lot to learn about learning to let go. The alternative does not seem very appealing.