Have a Good Day

The book of Ecclesiastes says ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…’ (3:1-4).

One of the key ideas of Shaolin Kung Fu is to live in balance. Balance means not every day will be an easy day. There will be days of loss (losing jobs, friends, a family member) and days of growth (new rank, new clothes, new career, new bike, new skills, new recognition). But all these days are still good days. If you are experiencing a day of loss it is “good” to mourn on those days. Sometimes our culture tries to shield us from pain and suffering – but in so doing we are shielded from the natural outflow of our hearts and the learning of character and hope that can come from such events and experiences. Sometimes drugs are prescribed for depression when sadness is part of the human experience that may be better resolved with having friends and loved ones allow us to mourn and comfort us by mourning with us.

If we are experiencing emptiness of life then that may be a cue to seek for real meaning in life beyond our daily schedules and rituals. Those times can drive us to find something more and worthwhile. So even these days can be good days because they are helping us achieve a greater peace in the end. And when what we normally call good days come– days of success, recognition, good health – we can truly laugh and dance in a richer way with perspective: God has made one day as well as the other and “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (3:11).

– Sigung Steve Jungmann
Pai Xeung Lum