A mutation of a good principle
My father used to tell me something which I think we all can relate to. It is very hard to learn how to
react to specific situations, one by one. It is much easier to just remember a few simple principles
instead!
Knowing this has made my life much simpler and free of complicated problems when approaching
certain situations. However, I think as most people with good, or bad, parents, I have always strived to
be even better than my parents, or to at least do more or get farther than them. This is not because of
some greedy thought of trying to prove I’m better, because that is hard to know for sure, since it is near
to impossible to put myself in the same situation that my parents had to grow up in, live in. Hence in
order to honor the time and love that my parents have given me, I try to do more and better to make
them proud, but also because I feel like I shouldn’t squander the energy and knowledge on useless
things, but pay it forward so to speak.
Now, this is a very ambitious path and it may not always work out the way I want it to, but I try my best.
Here is where the question comes in: Can I always do it better? Let’s say my parents taught me how to
chop wood with an axe. Can I really chop that many more logs than them, or even more efficiently?
Probably not. If they gave me the best recipe for a chocolate-cake can I do it better? Maybe?
What I am trying to say is do not hesitate to improve your skills where it is needed, but don’t mutate
what is already perfect...
I think that for a teacher, there is probably nothing more saddening than seeing a student mutate
something perfect, that has been taught to generations and generations, into something evil used only
for one persons greed and profit.
To understand my point just imagine a story of an aikido master teaching a student how to defend
yourself from bullies. Aikido is strictly a self-defense martial art for those interested. Now imagine that
after having mastered this new skill, this student now goes to his school, provokes a fight, and beats the
hell out of his bullies.