Becoming a black-belt at life

Ah yes the pattern of life. Today Taylor mentioned something that really got me thinking about what enlightenment really means. She said that we all lose ourselves in the pattern of life. With all the distractions and attachments it is hard not to be lost, but Sexon told us that detachment is the key to an elightened self. Here is what I have to say in addition to these two thoughts.

The pattern of life is really all encompassing. In the Robert Jordan fantasy series, The Wheel of Time, the pattern is everything: time and people, good and evil, reality and dreams. There is no stepping outside of the pattern-even if you are an enlightened one. Taylor made it clear that there is no way to live outside the pattern and Sexon affirmed this when he said we should live in the world, not of the world. Obviously no living person can truly ascend to becoming a god while still living in this current plain of existence. However, we can be aware of all the elements of life that we know, and connect the known to the unknown so it becomes our own. And now, here is the ultimate question: "What do we do with our knowledge and skills? Even if we do pay attention to all the struggles and blessings in life, what is to come of it?" I understand the need to move towards action, but I can't seem to grasp what action I am to commit myself to. I feel that "just being" is supposed to be enough...but it isn't and here is why. Teachers command things from you and if you don't complete them to their standards enough you fail; friends expect time from you but if you are busy you fail; parents expect certain kinds of behavior from you and if you get reckless you fail. To learn of detachment now is exactly what we as students need to hear, but we can't really move into detachment until we can simply just "be".

I am always being told in martial arts that the "real" practice doesn't begin until we reach black-belt status. I think that this saying can go beyond martial arts and apply itself to life as well. We go through our innocence of childhood working to become an adult, and then when we finally get to be an adult the real journey begins. The journey is purely personal and "we are the creatures who create meaning", thus only we can decide how to handle our adult lives after we feel we are learned enough to go off to the battle. So what am I going to do? Finish my amature practice, and become a black-belt at life (assuming I survive the battles of real life).