Five

How many of us realize how old we are?

Consider; the universe is composed of a finite amount of stuff. All of this stuff was created at the instant the universe came into being. All that was then still is today long, long eons from the beginning. Reaching back to the beginning of time our bodies are composed of material that was created in the death throes of early stars, sent on its way through the cosmos in cataclysmic super novae and eventually condensed into us. Our bodies, on a very fundamental level, are literally billions of years old.

Aikido has forced me to reevaluate my view of the universe and my relation to it. Indeed, after years of practice I realize that I am not in the universe; rather I am of the universe. The distinction is not trivial. ‘In' implies contained within but somehow separate. ‘Of' implies integrated with and not separate. If I am of something then that something is part of the fiber of my being and all of what it is becomes available for my use. Thus by proper unification of mind and body (of, not in) I am able to ‘extend Ki' and realize strength that would otherwise not be available to me.