Keep Your Eyes and Hands Up

I started taking taekwondo lessons about two years ago. I was a fresh and ignorant white belt sparring against a high school kid who was a 2nd or 3rd degree black belt. I was simply trying to hold my own and not get hurt when it happened: I looked down towards his feet at the exact moment he launched an uppercut right fist. After the initial shock, and before there was any real pain, my only thought was, "He HIT me! I just got punched in the face!" My second thought was, "Where did my glasses land?" He was apologizing, I was bent over and scrambling to keep my glasses from being stepped on by another student, and then the blood started. It started as a drip, but by the time I got to the bathroom it was a pretty steady stream.

But as I stood at the sink, head back, wet tissues up my nose, there was a strange thought that kept running through my brain: "So that's what it's like to take a punch. This is what it's like to have a bloody nose. I actually took a punch and I'm okay." To that point I'd never been hit, never had a bloody nose, but kind of wondered what it felt like and if I was sturdy enough to be punched and keep standing. Now don't get me wrong - I would prefer not to have that happen ever again, but the point is it didn't destroy me. I didn't have a broken nose, there were no broken teeth, and no black eyes. All in all, I came out okay. I also learned to keep my eyes and hands up. Some lessons are learned the hardest way possible.

I was thinking of this after the bizarre events of last week and the strange events that continue. We're all getting punched right now and it doesn't feel good. I don't know about you, but I've been a little rocked. But while we're getting punched we're also learning. We're learning that we've let busyness separate us. We're learning that change can come to us quickly whether we're prepared or not. We're learning that humans are incredibly creative, can find humor and creativity in uncomfortable situations, and we're learning that when things like sports and shopping are taken away we can find joy in art, storytelling, and just being together.

So stay strong. Stay standing. We all may get a little bloodied and beaten before our routines come back online. But we'll be okay. There is joy out there in the midst of trouble, and there is kindness and generosity ready to blossom in a time of need. We'll come out on the other side of this wiser, smarter, and better.