MAist25
Blue Belt
So I'm taking a philosophy class at college and one of the things we were discussing recently was how the world is like a prison. We are expected to act, dress, talk, a certain way, etc. or else we get what my professor calls "the they" look. It is that look you get when you do something out of the ordinary that is not "socially acceptable", i guess you could say. If you take the time to think about all the things you do simply because you "have to" in order to fit in, this theory of the world being a prison seems to make more and more sense to me. Now that I have this theory in my mind, I am noticing more and more when I do things just to do them so I do not stand out and get "the they" look.
And then I got thinking to the one place where I feel like I am free from this prison; the dojang. When I'm training, I lose all sense of the outside world. There's no homework, papers, stress, even things like styles of clothing, and other materialistic nonsense simply does not exist in the dojang. I think that many martial artists probably get this same sense if the martial arts are something they truly love to do and I wonder if this short euphoric experience I get from training is what freedom from "the they" really feels like and if there are other ways to escape the prison we are all trapped in. I'm not sure where I'm trying to go with this thread but I would like to hear what you all have to think. I think this topic could generate some good conversation.
And then I got thinking to the one place where I feel like I am free from this prison; the dojang. When I'm training, I lose all sense of the outside world. There's no homework, papers, stress, even things like styles of clothing, and other materialistic nonsense simply does not exist in the dojang. I think that many martial artists probably get this same sense if the martial arts are something they truly love to do and I wonder if this short euphoric experience I get from training is what freedom from "the they" really feels like and if there are other ways to escape the prison we are all trapped in. I'm not sure where I'm trying to go with this thread but I would like to hear what you all have to think. I think this topic could generate some good conversation.