Random thought....

I was at a teaching seminar the other week when I caught a talk from a prominent and renowned principal who has worked in various schools in Melbourne, has done some hard yards and who has been around the proverbial 'block' a couple times or so. The advice she had for new teachers was 'passion'. To paraphrase, her discourse went along the lines as such;
"Be passionate about what you do and don't give a damn what others think. The best way to involve others, inspire others and influence them is to move them with your passion - make it come alive!".
Immediately, I thought of what we do . How many times has someone looked at us funny, been indifferent and not understood the love of our art. "You what?! Cut bamboo with real swords?! Use old weapons?! Travel around the world training?! Why would you wanna do that for?!" I'm sure we've all experienced this before. Do your best to explain, make analogies, smile and then move on. If a chance arises, by all means invite them to keiko and allow your passion to further the explanation (non-violently of course). I am convinced this passion we have for keiko and kobudo, transmutes to other endeavours in our lives and allows us to transcend tedious and mudane discussions such as...."Why would you want to train classical jujutsu for?!"