Not that the year was uneventful, it was. Extremely.
The excuses, yes excuses, I give myself were plenty; no time, facebook and twitter updates more immediate, more spontaneous, more people will instantly know my thoughts and my writing and like and retweet my updates, etc, etc.
Well, I decided I won't leave one year not stating what was significant for me. If I were to choose the one thing that I was happy about apart from my family, it would be the fact that we brought
The Samurai Game® to Malaysia and more importantly for me to have participated in the game three times, in and outside the country. The result of which, although they vary from game to game, was the message to "slow down to the speed of life".
To deliberate more on thoughts, words and deeds. In short to truly stay in the moment, live life in the moments. To stop rushing through life and refrain from always jumping at "what's next?"
Although I have known the concept of slowing down, through the 'slow' movement, slow food vs fast food etc. I don't believe I have truly begun to fathom what slowing down really entails. The Samurais live by the Bushido Code, largely consisting the values of honor, respect, integrity. The game embodies the Samurai maxim of; One Meeting. One Chance. For me, it simply means, engage every moment of my life with whoever, whatever I'm with or doing. Fully engage because, Life is not a rehearsal!
George Leonard was the founder of The Samurai Game®, he also wrote the book called Mastery. In the book, also considered one of the best books I have read in 2011, he maintains that all of us living in this world, are on the path to mastery and that life is lived in the plateau where practice of our mastery happens, not as portrayed in the mass media as a series of uninterrupted peaks and spikes of our achievements. Especially in this 'quick fix' world we live in where practice is the key to mastery and if we love the practice and therefore practice for the sake of the practice, then we'll be able to attain new levels of competence on the path to be true masters of our craft.
Go find out more about the Game here : The Samurai Game
Read about the book here: George Leonard's Mastery
Happy New Year 2012 everyone. Slow down to the speed of life...
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