"You are 1 of a kind, You enrich peoples lives and put good back into a cruel world, for that you are a king, all the best Richard. "~ Ben Briggs - UK
Chatting with the crowd at a break during the seminar.
Demoing something or other :`)
Rod and new Team member Norbert Matausch of Germany.
Senshido International European Team members Eric, Norb, myself, Rod and Luc.
Rod and I teaching.More seminar pics here: http://www.acdsbelgium.org/stages-seminars/senshido-belgium-mars-2010/
"Rich is full of mystique, karma, Buddhism & various religions in one; he is truly searching to fundamentally understand human kind. He reminds me of a mix between the character 'Bernardo' in Zorro & Malcolm X who lived a violent life & came to realize that human beings can also be good. He opened up allot of doors for search but I believe him to be in a constant state of search himself." ~ Leif E. - France
The above testimonial came from a very nice review from one of the particpants from France and has been translated from French to English. The one preceding it at the top, on my facebook wall under one of my status updates.
The words are quite inspirational and it is very difficult for me to see myself as such... I've been compared to many from Bruce Lee to Ghandi and many in between whose shoes are way to big to fill for an angry kid from the south shore of Montreal... though my ego would love to relate and more than accept, I sincerely do not see myself in that light at all... I can barely manage my own life truth be told. However, I can and do acknowledge that our work is indeed life changing for many and on many levels as well but it is a collective effort and not the work of one man alone.
The Month of March was a busy and very successful one for our Movement with the changing of many lives in Egypt, Australia and Belgium… the work my Team is doing is second to none. I have seen a cynical almost burned out from the job cop have a complete turn around, witnessed prior aggressive individuals due to their line of work become more peaceful and compassionate, watched groups of teens literally evolve before my very eyes and more... I have received countless emails from people who have shifted their perceptions of violence through experience to a greater understanding of the collective point of view and its effects on humanity as a whole.
It is still a wonder for me this path which was bestowed upon me and through a somewhat choiceless choice, I accepted to undertake not realizing at the time, the depths in which it would send me and many the world over.
Our team is slowly growing with incredible self-less yet still human individuals from all walks of life wanting to make a difference, giving of themselves on many levels yet still navigating through the internal chaos of feeling like no difference was truly ever made as the world is seemingly getting worst.
We are not perfect… far from it actually. We all have our own personal demons; it’s hard to teach what we teach and do what we do without having lived a certain kind of life and it is equally as hard to not have that life affect us in negative ways, we are after all, only human. We have our dark days, we have our moments and with each other’s friendship we surmount them.
Because whether we like it or not, it is in the blood and soul of each and every one of us. Some would call it a curse, others a blessing and they would of course, both be right.
It’s not like we asked for this really… though in most uncertain terms, it most definitely is. It is no accident. The people who gravitate, choose and are chosen to be on the Team are chosen with purpose and reason. Not all will tough it out though, some have already left us and I do not blame them one bit. The realization of the magnitude of such work can and does weigh on one’s soul, no 2 ways about it; whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not. It is there.
And so as difficult as it maybe at times, as challenging as it is, we will, as Rocky Balboa said in the final instalment of the series, or perhaps not the final instalment, we never know with Stallone but God bless him for giving us the 6th Rocky, “It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can take a hit and keep moving forward.”
So we keep moving forward and the most gratifying thing is in watching the lives we touched change, the ripple effect of this action and the very inspirational emails we receive on an almost daily basis…
Thank you to Dominic O’neil and his family in Australia and to Rod, Eric and Luc in Belgium for making March triumphant on so many levels for so many people. You guys are gold brother, never lose touch with that.
Peace,
Rich
The Month of March was a busy and very successful one for our Movement with the changing of many lives in Egypt, Australia and Belgium… the work my Team is doing is second to none. I have seen a cynical almost burned out from the job cop have a complete turn around, witnessed prior aggressive individuals due to their line of work become more peaceful and compassionate, watched groups of teens literally evolve before my very eyes and more... I have received countless emails from people who have shifted their perceptions of violence through experience to a greater understanding of the collective point of view and its effects on humanity as a whole.
It is still a wonder for me this path which was bestowed upon me and through a somewhat choiceless choice, I accepted to undertake not realizing at the time, the depths in which it would send me and many the world over.
Our team is slowly growing with incredible self-less yet still human individuals from all walks of life wanting to make a difference, giving of themselves on many levels yet still navigating through the internal chaos of feeling like no difference was truly ever made as the world is seemingly getting worst.
We are not perfect… far from it actually. We all have our own personal demons; it’s hard to teach what we teach and do what we do without having lived a certain kind of life and it is equally as hard to not have that life affect us in negative ways, we are after all, only human. We have our dark days, we have our moments and with each other’s friendship we surmount them.
Because whether we like it or not, it is in the blood and soul of each and every one of us. Some would call it a curse, others a blessing and they would of course, both be right.
It’s not like we asked for this really… though in most uncertain terms, it most definitely is. It is no accident. The people who gravitate, choose and are chosen to be on the Team are chosen with purpose and reason. Not all will tough it out though, some have already left us and I do not blame them one bit. The realization of the magnitude of such work can and does weigh on one’s soul, no 2 ways about it; whether one chooses to acknowledge it or not. It is there.
And so as difficult as it maybe at times, as challenging as it is, we will, as Rocky Balboa said in the final instalment of the series, or perhaps not the final instalment, we never know with Stallone but God bless him for giving us the 6th Rocky, “It’s not about how hard you can hit, it’s about how hard you can take a hit and keep moving forward.”
So we keep moving forward and the most gratifying thing is in watching the lives we touched change, the ripple effect of this action and the very inspirational emails we receive on an almost daily basis…
Thank you to Dominic O’neil and his family in Australia and to Rod, Eric and Luc in Belgium for making March triumphant on so many levels for so many people. You guys are gold brother, never lose touch with that.
Peace,
Rich
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