As I found my booth I quickly noticed a scene that rang oh so true, a young couple shoveling in as much as they could, as fast as they could, while their four small children burned through both their food, and their parents patience. Today’s teacher was sitting at the end of the table slumped down in the grand high chair; king of the table, watched by everyone in the area, except the parents. This young lad was smart as a whip and perhaps the most determined creature I have ever seen. Each time the parents would turn away the youngster would reach out, grab their plate, straw, roll, etc. and declare it as his own. The parents would nonchalantly notice and push their plates and glasses away. Again and again he reached out, finger tips at the ready, ever carefully drawing the parents plates back to his lair. If he ever found himself unable to reach the food he would wait, let out a little cry, and the parents would turn and give him some of their food. Like Pavlov’s dog, these young parents responded each time the baby bell gave a little ring.

I’m fairly certain that he ate more than anyone at that table; unfettered by the witty repartee of the parents, un-phased by the constant skirmishes between siblings. He was focused, committed, determined to reach his goal, and nothing would stand in his way. He used a fork, spoon, his chubby hands, even the napkin the plate was on as a means to an end. Whatever presented itself, in whatever form, he saw it as a tool and carefully crafted his plan. When others looked away he focused even harder, when extra items found their way into the goalie box of his mouth he would snatch them up and devour them before the parents had a chance to see they were gone. What a lesson, a living breathing, pooping object lesson on perseverance, focus, and absolute commitment to a goal.

What if I approached the problems in my life with such tenacity and determination? What if I found every option, every tool, every opportunity to come closer to my objective, and used it without hesitation. How often do I find myself strolling along in a melancholy state oblivious to the world around me and the opportunities that may be presenting themselves at every turn? My mentor showed me it could be done, anything could be done, with unwavering faith, single minded determination, and the patience to wait out opportunity or make it for myself. Well done, oh bottle fed, mashed potato and pea laden wise one. I will take your lessons to heart, I will focus, and I will conquer my dreams. I feel better, I feel strong, after all if a diaper wearing, non-educated, jobless mute could do it, so can I.

Check Please.

-Toru Sensei

As a child I always appreciated the witty bouncy polka-like nature of the tune but as an adult I see the lesson crawling from the tale. Johnny made a machine; he was very proud of it and apparently used it to rid the neighborhood of wandering pets. A young rotund customer actually blew a whistle and the sausages began to prance about like little Jimmy Dean zombies. In time the machine broke down and Johnny crawled inside to diagnose the problem. His lovely wife, apparently given to sleep walking, went on a midnight stroll and for whatever reason decided to give the machine a go and voila, it worked! In a single crank the chef became the meal. No further explanation is given, no consoling moral is presented, just crank, crack, sausage! Now that I write it out, it’s no wonder my kids had nightmares after I crooned them into slumber with that little piece of Poe.

So what of the story? Simply put, I believe that Johnny became infatuated with his own ability and goodness. He became lazy, became self absorbed, and began to consume anything and everything around him. In time, the machine broke and instead of asking for help, he simply climbed into his own ego and his wife ground him up the way life does the self absorbed soul. Ok, yes, I could be reading more into this than was intended but seriously, who writes that without some deeper meaning? I am convinced that it is a warning to us all; sometimes the slow way is the sure way and don’t think you have all the answers since you might just grind yourself up. It is a keen reminder to me, it is perhaps a keen reminder to you, but no matter what, we must all recognize our need for one another, our need to do the hard work sometimes, and our need to not consume others like Johnny’s machine consumed pets. I hope that we all can practice the spirit of Karma and give good out and get good back.

By the way, if you really want to get the full emotional experience just let me know and I’ll be happy to sing it to you! Bang! (eventually, you will understand)

-Sensei Toru

I watched as they came in; they moved slowly, quietly but the love was obvious in their face and you could tell they were as happy as the day they first met over fifty years ago. His sea blue sweater open, his shirt neatly tucked into his pants, you could tell he dressed for dinner. She was in a wheel chair, head bent with age but hair in perfect form. Her nails were done neatly and you could tell her outfit had been carefully chosen from the navy blue jacket to her black leather shoes. Her makeup was done neatly and she smiled, but you could tell that there was an absence in her. The keen and, no doubt, wonderful woman of the past had faded some, but her husband stood by her and you could almost see them so long ago holding hands, raising their family, living their life full of love.

He passed me and removed a chair from their little four top in the center of the room near the buffet line and then gently nudged her wheel chair into position. Hands on her shoulders, he whispered to her and then took off his sweater and placed it around her shoulders. He made sure she had some water, placed her straw in it ever so carefully, gave her a sip and then quietly walked to the buffet line. She sat almost motionless, head bent slightly, looking down and not really registering a great deal but you could see that she was at peace and felt very much in love. When he returned, she glanced upward and smiled, placed her hand on his cheek as he arranged her plate. He buttered her roll, cut her meat, and lovingly placed her napkin so as to protect her fine shirt and jacket. He smiled often, talked to her, held her hand and situated the sweater around her shoulders. He then went back and got his plate and together they sat quietly, saying next to nothing but exchanging flirtatious glances and eyefuls of love.

As I watched, my food grew cold but my heart was full and as warm as it had ever been. I was watching love in real life and when you see it for real, in living color, it takes your breath away and fills your soul with emotion. They finished, he scooted her out from the table, replaced the chair, and together they left the restaurant. I couldn’t help but notice that the evening western sun was shining through the windows and the rays seemed to provide a closing curtain to the real life drama that I had just witnessed. I paused, collected myself, realized that I had tears in both eyes and said a little prayer that I would live long enough to show that kind of love. Then it dawned on me, he didn’t start today, he had been showing that kind of love for decades.

Check Please

-Toru Sensei

When you are faced with the obvious reality that “through” is the only path, you have to get your head on straight to make it. You have to find a way to see the silver lining, make something of the mud around you and turn frustration into joy. For me the first real test came on the farm; no real surprise there. I would often have to sit on the canal bank and guard the road while the cows grazed along the canal and fence line. It was hot, it was dull, and most of all it was just plain boring! Hours of just sitting there like watching paint dry on a white wall. I did break the monotony up once with a little dip in the canal but that was short lived and involved a whole bunch of blood sucking leeches. Books didn’t help, we didn’t’ have ipads, headphones and portable music systems had not yet been invented. Just sit, stare, sit, starve, sit, whine, sit, moan, sit, sit, sit. Oddly enough the cows never moved a muscle. Not once did they actually try to get past my post. I was killing time and it was killing me back.

Dad gave me his famous advice “If you can’t get out of it, get into it” and it bounced around in my head until one day it hit me; do something! I started out with a metal bat and a whole bunch of little rocks from the road next to the canal; I bet my batting average doubled that year. Next I started writing down short stories that I ended up using during school. Finally, my martial arts teacher advised me to use the time to improve my skills and that is when that time went from dull to critical in my life. I started to beg to watch the cows so that I could have time to practice my karate. Year after year, summer after summer I trained while watching cows. It started to pay off and my life became so much better. I grew stronger, I was happier, and overall I just felt better. I found a way to improve my time in the face of absolute nothingness. In time I added my meditation studies and I found that whenever I began to meditate the horses would congregate right on the other side of the fence and just sit there. I often wondered what they knew that I did not but alas, that one is still a mystery.

So when you are stuck in life, living in a cul-de-suck, dead end job, relationship issues, and financial issues, just ponder these magic words and life will improve. Ask yourself how you can turn your troubles in to triumphs, If you can’t get out of it, get into it! Get into it and life will grant you passage, knowledge, and above all a new understanding of what matters most in your life. Good Luck!

–Sensei Toru

(Toru Sensei)

http://kidsbrigade.org/541/cpl-aaron-mankin-a-great-story/

http://kidsbrigade.org/538/motivational-speech-we-want-to-share/

I’ll write more about this in the future but for now just take a minute and ask yourself “What cause do I feel strongly enough about to actually dedicate myself and fight for what is right?” Find your super power, find your courage, but be advised, this call to action comes with a warning…for every super hero there is also a villain and when you activate one you activate the other! I guess that’s what makes it a Super Power; if it was easy then everyone would do it. Oh, don’t forget, by the way, the Super Hero always wins.

-Toru Sensei