Patience

          The hardest thing for me to do after getting injured is the waiting as that injury heals. What's even harder is not knowing exactly how serious your injury is and not knowing how long it will take to heal. On Sunday March 30th, I injured my knee while trying a move on the floor a have never tried before. I landed with my right knee hitting the ground first. It HURT. A LOT! But I hobbled off the floor and proceeded to watch my knee start to bruise and swell. A LOT! Almost a week has past since that injury and my knee has barely gotten better. It's still numb, still slightly swollen, and tender in certain places. This makes it very difficult to teach classes for a couple of reasons. 1) I like to demonstrate as I explain drills and concepts to my students. Only having one completely functional leg becomes a problem for me and my right brain ways. 2) Standing on that leg for a long time doesn't feel good. It becomes painful and restricts my movements. 3) The wrap i use and the brace i use for my knee is uncomfortable and restricts movement. This is both good and bad. As my knee heals there are certain ways i should not be moving my leg and the brace makes sure of that. However, the brace is bulky and tight around my leg. If I make it too tight i'll cut off blood circulation and if it's too loose then it wont do it's job properly. I have yet to be successful at putting on my brace correctly the first time.

          All of these struggles bring forth many trials and many lessons (like how to teach without using your hands). But the one lesson that is consistent in every one of them is patience. I must be patient when putting on my brace for if i do it too fast i will do it in correctly. I must learn to be patient with myself while I am both on and off the floor. On the floor, I must be aware of my injury and sit down until it becomes less irritated and off the floor I mist be patient with the healing process, no matter how long it may take. My students must also be patient with me because i'm not used to teaching while being critically immobilized. I know that if I remain patient the healing process will be more enjoyable. I cannot just make my knee heal faster. It takes time. And it's going to take time whether I m patient or not. The difference is that if I am impatient and try to push my limits or if I don't take proper care of myself I will have a more negative experience and chances are I will experience more pain with a high risk of re-injuring my knee. On the other hand, if I am patient and do everything my doctor, parents, and instructors tell me to do I will have a lowered rick of re-injuring myself and  it will reduce the amount of stress that I inflict upon myself. In other words, chances are, I will have a better experience and a happier recovery if I am patient. Think of how this can be applied to other things. such as teaching a peer, or applying for jobs, or even testing for your black belt. I do not believe that patients is the key to success, but I do believe that patients is a tool that will bring you happiness in the long run.



JOKE OF THE DAY! Attending a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, "why is the bride dressed in white?" "Because white is the color of happiness," her mother explained. "And today is the happiest day in her life." The child thought about this for a moment. "So why is the groom wearing black?"