I turned 60 today. And what an amazing 60 years it has been. If you had asked me at 12, or even 18, what I wanted to be when I grew up, I certainly wouldn't have said an aikido instructor. In fact, I had no idea that aikido even existed until I was about 21 years old and an Army buddy told me about it.
Now, 33 years after I began aikido, here I am with my own dojo and thriving community. I've been a full-time aikido instructor for 21 years and have been in the same location for 19 years. No small feat given the rise and fall of strip mall martial arts schools I've seen during that time.
It's hard to put into words how my practice has changed over the three decades. The closest thing may be something like, "It has deepened." The gradual unfolding that has happened has made me appreciate that something as life-changing as aikido takes years to even begin to understand.
I want to take a moment here, on my 60th solar cycle day, to express gratitude to Morihei Ueshiba, O'Sensei for his grand vision and his commitment to his own spiritual path; and to my first teacher Stan Pranin Sensei for his enthusiasm and curiosity about aikido and O'Sensei's life; and to my current teacher, Frank Doran Sensei for his continued support in allowing me to find my own personal path within the larger path of aikido; and to my wife, Linda for waking me up to the fact that without loving support from a life-partner, an important part of one's deepest self may never get expressed in the world; and to all my teachers over the years, both in aikido and in other practices, who have shown me both how to be and how not to be; and to all my students who have also been my teachers; and to my former wives, all my friends, my family...
To all of you, I love you.
Thank you.
It's been an amazing 60 years.
