Don’t you just love before & after pictures? They’re usually associated with some project that required a lot of work to complete, or perhaps used just to document changes in life.   The point is, that, after the fact, one can still go back and re-live the moment….feeling the pride of accomplishment, or simply marveling over the changes.

Kung Fu training is rather like a before & after picture.   At the start, the task of learning many new things and training the body and mind to perform seems a little daunting. Often that mind/body connection just isn’t there. The brain says “do this”, and the body reacts like a Minion asking “what?!?!?!?”   Yet, by taking it one step at a time, using perseverance to continue on, and keeping the focus on the overall goal….it’s doable.   In fact, it’s really quite easier than initially perceived.   And, when each step in the journey is completed……. ahhhhh…. That Feeling!!!   Nothing like it.

The interesting thing is that, often, people don’t realize how much change is happening. The instructors do. They see the refinements in the movements that the individual student might not fully appreciate, because the person is stuck on what they aren’t doing versus realizing how much they’ve already done. The acknowledgement of those refinements comes to the students in the form of advancing in rank.   And, all those pictures (and perhaps videos) of those rank advancements?   Why….they’re just part of the Before & After documentation that gets tucked away, only to be taken out again at some future date and re-lived through the memories of the day, or overall time in one’s life.   ….Part of that human experience that makes life so rewarding.   Go ahead….take those pictures! Show them off! Celebrate both the Before AND the After moments.   Whether it’s Kung Fu, finishing homework, planting flowers, hitting a home run, clearing grassy banks, or some other milestone…..recognize and appreciate the journey traveled between the Before and the After.   It’s YOUR journey. Make the most of it.