In Order To Be Free, We Must Learn How To Let Go! - Michele Normand


May 11, 2019 was one of the most memorable days of my life. One of my goals this testing year was to break a brick.  On the Thursday before the big day KJN Jeremy worked with our team on the technique of breaking.  Stacking up four shields he taught us foot placement, the importance of twisting our bodies and allowing all our physical weight to drop into the strike.  At one point he went to the back room and carried out a concrete paver we would be breaking and set it on top of the stack of shields.  My goal was to break that?!  Open mouth insert both feet!  What was I thinking?  For the next 24 hours it was all I could think about.  Would I break it?  Could I break it?  Was I going to injure myself breaking it?  Am I crazy to try this?  WHAT AM I DOING???!!!!!!!!!  Saturday May 11th we celebrated DMS's 2 year birthday and during that celebration the black belt candidates and support team were going to do their breaking.  When it was time for brick breaking I hear "Michele you are up first." WHAT???!!!  The team got the brick set up.  I walked up to it got in position and looked back at KJN Jeremy. He said to me "Whenever you are ready.  Just take some deep breaths and whenever you are ready, you go." I had the support of my once in a lifetime kind of people all around me. In that moment it became not about concrete brick in front of me but about leaving the pain of the past behind me and freeing myself to live the future ahead of me.  Was I nervous?  Yes.  Was I uncertain?  Yes. I stood up, wiped off my hand and as I leaned back over that brick, tears welling up in my eyes I flashed back to a self defense birthday party I helped with. KJN Jeremy had all the birthday goers write on one side of a board they were about to break a challenge in their life and on the other side the outcome of overcoming that challenge. I pictured written on that brick "In order to be free, you must learn how to let go.  Release the hurt.  Release the doubt. Release the fear. Refuse to hold onto old pain" and on the other side of that brick the words "CONFIDENT AND FREE".  

Goal number 4:  Break a brick - CHECK

1st Degree Black Belt Candidate - Michele

Comments

  1. Lia London, authorMay 19, 2019 at 6:52 PM

    That's a heck of a lot better reason to blast through that brick than I had. No wonder you smashed it! SO PROUD OF YOU!!

    ReplyDelete

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