Who’s the Master?
When my boys we little, they had this funny thing they used to say: I would ask them something and they would look tell me “I don’t know, I’m not the Master”. Then they would crack up laughing, and so would I. Truth is, I don’t know if they got the idea from somewhere or it was original but, like so many memories with them, it’s special to me. The memory is more funny and ironic now, because two of the three of them are “the Master” and the youngest, Sensei Winston, will test for his 4th degree Master rank next year.
The real purpose of the memory in this meditation, was to ask you this question? Who’s the Master of you? and/or what?
I think it’s good for us all to have Masters in our lives, in the sense of mentors, teachers, experts in their particular fields that help us accomplish our roles and goals.
But, ultimately, each of us is responsible 100% for our own decisions, actions and results. Consultants are good, but you and only you are Master of you, as I and only I am of me. It is a mistake to put too much faith in the ability, or desire, of anyone else to fix us or our situation. Faith in our future should come from faith in ourselves and God alone. I sow the fields, and God sends the rain.
There is one more way in which I ask the question; in transparency it was observations of people this morning that led me to this meditation in the first place. I experienced (as I unfortunately do most every day) people using their phones for text or email or social media or something that had them distracted while they drive. And then, walking into Target to get me some pods of Newman’s Own organic coffee (highly recommend) some guy would have walked right into me if I didn’t walk around him. And to be specifically clear, he was walking 100% with his attention on and in his phone. He didn’t even see me or anything else going on around him. He was totally and utterly distracted. His phone is his master.
Other people, the phone, the media, the news, drugs, alcohol, food, gaming… there are no shortage of would be masters lurking about, and vying for your attention- and servitude.
I challenge everyone reading this to ask yourself the question, “who and want is master of me”. And then decide if you’re OK with that; or if you’re ready to change it.
Prepare To Live; Empower To Lead! Grand Master Stephen J. Del Castillo About Grandmaster Stephen J. Del Castillo: Grandmaster Del Castillo is the founding Master Instructor of Krav Maga Martial Arts and has been empowering lives in Pasco and Hillsborough Counties since October of 2000. He is a 7th degree Blackbelt, MBA, author, mentor and success coach, a US Army Veteran and a proud father and grandfather. He is married to Ms. Barbara Del Castillo who helps him run the school. Grand Master Del Castillo began his training in the early 80’s and has high level blackbelts in Tae Kwon Do, Karate, Premier Martial Arts and Krav Maga Martial Arts as well as experience in kickboxing, Jeet Kune Do and Jiujitsu. He has high level instructor certifications from BBSI, IKMF, and KMG and has been featured in numerous Martial Arts publications and also Success magazine. He was a competitive sport karate and American Kickboxing instructor until he enlisted in the US Army where he served in the 82nd Airborne Division, where he won an Army Green to Gold scholarship and proceeded to ROTC and the University of Tampa. He was commissioned in 1992 and went on to serve in Germany with the 3rd Infantry Division and then in several other posts in the US until he left military service to pursue his dream of creating KMMA in 2000. The Krav MagaMartial Arts Headquarters is in Lutz, FL at 1900 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., 33549. Krav Maga Martial Arts serves Lutz, Land O’ Lakes, Wesley Chapel, and surrounding areas. See stephendelcastillo.com for more information and to order my book, Developing Your Superpower, Meditations on Mastery, Volume 1. Also, check us out on Fun4TampaKids & on Go2Karate.com |