If hitting your target presents a constant challenge, how about aiming from horseback, at full gallop?
Almost 1,500 years ago, Japanese samurai began perfecting the form of horseback archery known as yabusame (yah-boo-sah-meh).
On this sun-after-rain afternoon, beneath a glistening, snow-capped Mount Fuji, I join the yabusame festival my rural community has celebrated for over nine centuries.
Every year, on the April 29 national holiday, mounted archers display their martial art at Lake Kawaguchi, a three-minute walk from the front entrance of Energy Doorways, the Japanese publishing company I established here.
After a ritual ceremony at the nearby shrine, male and female archers ride out in measured procession towards the lakeshore.
Their finery replicates 13th century formal hunting costume – jaunty hats, deerskin chaps, jewel tone silks, black velvet chest protectors embroidered with gold crests, and soft leather shoes that slip into stirrups shaped like oversized, decorated slippers.
And, of course, the elegant, recurve bow, one of the longest in the world.
Although many in the West are familiar with the mystique of the Japanese sword, early samurai defined their warrior creed as The Way of the Bow and Horse.
Yabusame echoes that lost era of thundering hooves and singing arrows.
Conditions this year are especially challenging.
Morning rehearsals under heavy rain have churned the dirt track to mud, and a ferocious wind gusts.
Galloping at full tilt each archer readies the arrow for aim at targets spaced along the narrow track.
In successive rounds these are replaced with ever smaller targets – a bulls-eye board, then a wooden square, finally a suspended clay pot.
Since the archer needs both hands to load the arrow, draw the bow, and shoot, the horse is controlled with the knees, implying total trust between rider and animal.
At the precise moment of aim, the archer raises the body, twisting the bow at full draw, and releases the arrow with a special shout meant to align energy and intention.
Even in these unfavorable circumstances, with some horses slipping and arrows blown off course, several archers achieve the satisfying thwack of targets soundly hit.
Yet yabusame is not a vying for the title of the best archer.
Traditional training taught discipline, focus, and finesse.
Breathing practice harmonized mind and body under the most intense pressure, allowing the horse archer to overcome doubt and fear.
Imbued with spiritual significance, the martial art accorded respect to the divine, natural cycles, and human skill in delighting the gods.
Can such aspirations have any relevance in today’s world?
I invite you to share your thoughts about the following personal growth inspiration I gleaned from this year’s horseback archery event.
Yabusame-Inspired Actions
Identify exactly what and where your target is.
Execute every step necessary to support your aim.
Become really good at what you want to do.
Root your efforts in confidence and spiritual purpose.
Display your flair by dressing for the part.
Go all out, galloping at full tilt.
Face hostile situations with equanimity.
Recognize that authentic action yields its own reward.
Trust what carries you forward.
Celebrate the moment as all there is.
Yabusame-Inspired Lessons
It’s not about competing with others.
It’s about being the best only you can be in the present.
It’s not about winning applause.
It’s about dancing with your unique abilities and talents.
It’s not about taking home the prize.
It’s about reflecting harmony, prosperity, and shared abundance.
Yabusame-Inpsired Insights
Be what you are:
Express your passion with your true colors flying.
Act with courage:
Hitting your target requires your initial willingness to try.
Adjust your attitude:
Adverse conditions are simply that – your real test is how you respond.
Discover your inner power:
True aim arises from the certainty of centered stillness.
See the bigger picture:
When your arrow misses the mark, sense the gods are smiling anyway.
Show gratitude:
Appreciate your horse and trust teamwork – each one needs and helps the other.
Be bold:
Leave the crowds gasping with astonishment at your bravado.
Live fully, live well:
Look back and say, “I had a great ride.”
How do you feel about hitting your target at full gallop?
What other comments would you like to share?
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This is fabulous, Catrien! Thanks for sharing this unique cultural experience that speaks to timeless truths. Because of your rich description, I can go inside and feel the qualities and insights these warriors embody. The metaphor of the archers is alive in me and will serve as an effective reminder as I aim toward my own targets.
Much love,
Gail
Gail, it is such joy to to see your smile here again. Thank you for your appreciative comment and your lovely words, “the metaphor of the archers is alive in me.”
Have a wonderful week dancing toward your own targets!
Absolutely wonderful…such clarity. Beautiful photos…and I love that you imagined thought sensed yourself into the yabusame experience. Two words ‘jumped out’ for me in your writing ~ Trust and celebrate. When I first started reading your post I thought it was a thought or phraze not an actual happening ~ galloping and archery. For me when I read and imagine what comes up is stillness in the movement…how the riders have created space by being so fully present…and their relationship with their horses I cannot begin to imagine…and that their costumes not only celebrate but also honour…thank you
) a delight to read on this monsoon London Beltain day….I got more wet than I have ever been when not in a bath or swimming!
Elizabeth, hello again – your description of the London rain brought such a smile. At the yabusame festival an announcement said that the archers and horses received a very similar soaking during their morning rehearsals. They performed magnificently in the afternoon sun, so such a downpour may be very cleansing and inspiring!
Thank you, too, for showing up so brightly at my blog!
thanks Catrien for sharing a cultural experience many of us would be unaware of and never get to see for ourselves
today you have been our eyes
i’m at a point in my journey where despite ticking many of the boxes as far as identifying goals/targets, setting intentions, making the sacrifices required and doing the work, ‘hitting the target at full gallop’ has yet to be achieved
perhaps that is because I don’t have a horse!?!
something for me to consider there
another point to consider in today’s cultural exchange lesson
is what jumped out at me from the text:
display your flair by dressing for the part
now that could be fun, playing dress-ups
but oh, as most women wail when they stand at their wardrobe door, ” i have nothing to wear!”
but now i shall peer into my wardrobe with the eyes of a warrior (after all that is what my name means…)and see what calls out to be worn
Kel, Celtic Warrior, thank you for winging your way here again. Your comment about having or not having a horse made me think, too. Do we express what we are and do in tandem with what carries us?
With your artist’s eye for color and form, I am sure you picked out the perfect attire from your warrior’s wardrobe.
Have a wonderful day, gallantly sallying forth!
It’s hard to know which to compliment first, Catrien’s word flows, the meanings and energies in them, or the pictures from Kohdoh who, evidently doesn’t know what it means to take a photograph that is not perfectly gorgeous.
No choosing? That is, perhaps, daring to do archery while admiring the gallop.
Thanks to you both for this latest magnificent post.
Rose, such warm words again. Kohdoh, especially, appreciated them so much. The horses’ hooves kicked up quite a bit of mud, splattering the camera lens. An invigorating afternoon in many ways.
Thank you, too, for your Deeper Perception insight about no choosing. Hope your day today unfolds magnificently.
Hello, Edinburgh has a growing Beltain festival which the BBC have covered. Apparently the festival was joined by Taiko drummers and the Festival producer has made links with the “ancient tradition the Mugen Taiko Dojo is exactly the same”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8651801.stm
Kel…love your post and looking at our wardrobe with the eyes of a warrior
Elizabeth, thank you for the information and the link. Anyone who has experienced Japanese taiko drumming understands how stirring it can be. As a Scot, I am quite partial to the stir of bagpipes, too – particularly the great pibroch sounding out across the mountains. Perhaps all of this can be integrated in one swell of passionate connection!
Hi Catrien .. what a wonderful place you live in .. a community of nine centuries .. so much history enshrined here and 1,500 years of yabusame ….
I love this outcome .. ‘when your arrow misses – sense the gods are smiling anyway ..’ – I like that we learn from doing and practising and will never ever always hit the mark.
Your breakdown on the actions, lessons and insights is really useful and as you so rightly say .. it is life .. much better than our competitive streaks in the west, or we’re all equal regardless .. some are better artists, riders, cooks etc .. we are unique humans .. and we should wonder at others’ achievements – thank goodness for them.
The photos are lovely .. so clear .. and give us a real good idea of your mud track, the cold icy wind (as I sit here in a coldish wet England) – I can feel that .. the sun-recent rain drenched – day ..
These lines say it all “traditional training taught discipline, focus and finesse.
Breathing practice harmonized mind and body under the most intense pressure, allowing the horse archer to overcome doubt and fear
Imbued with spiritual significance, the martial art accorded respect to the divine, natural cycles, and human skill in delighting the gods.”
Love it .. when I have more time and I’m more settled I’ll be over to read some more of your posts .. for now .. have a good week .. and thanks for telling us about the way of the bow and horse – they are large bows – aren’t they .. wonderful scenery and backdrop .. Thanks – Hilary
Hilary, thank you again for braving the coldish wet English weather to step out into this part of the world. The wind during yabusame was gusting, but surprisingly unchilly – one of those warm winds that blow between Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji.
Thank you, too, for the warmth of your words, especially, “we are unique humans … and we should wonder at others’ achievements – thank goodness for them.”
I very much look forward to your return visit when you have time. Yes, as you observe, the Japanese bow is one of the longest in the world. Lake Kawaguchi is indeed a very beautiful place. The setting for yabusame could not be more inspiring.
Hi Catrien, Thank you for sharing this wonderful practice with us. As you so beautifully point out, the skills one learns in Samurai horse archery are applicable to many walks of life. Not all of our arrows will hit their mark, but the important lesson is that there is no judgment in that just keep on trying and moving forward and you’ll get there. Thank you for inspiring me!
And I would add that I have my own agenda’s and think that I am on target when I am not! And in the past have thought I have failed when in fact in the bigger scheme of things or not my ego but Spirit’s agenda it is meant that I take a different aim. Have a different target. I recently noted/realized that time and time again at workshop and life situations I had consciously put myself in ~ I was coming away learning lessons I hadn’t even asked the question to! One workshop I joined the lesson meant in cancelling the course…
Elizabeth, thank you very much for adding this very important point. Yes, we can become very attached to our aims, even when it is clear that they no longer serve us. And letting go of a treasured aim can often be so much harder than anything we have tried. As you perceptively point out, we can receive lessons in answer to questions we have not even begun to ask. So another yabusame-inspired action might be getting yourself – your ego, out of the way – so that in your stillness you open to other possibilities, other aims. Thank you for sharing this.
Angela, good morning, thank you for dropping by again to share your insight. As you perceptively point out, “Not all of our arrows will hit their mark, but the important lesson is that there is no judgment in that just keep on trying and moving forward and you’ll get there.”
Thank you for expressing your enjoyment – an intuitively rich day to you, today!
Catrien: such a magnificent list – I was drawn to warrior mode (not in my wardrobe, Kel) in facing my goals with harmony of ‘aligned energy and intention’ – that is something I need to practice more. Thank you not only for a list I shall take to read in bed…
but also for stunning light of the photographs – itself a gift: clarity of *air* & purpose.
One thing has always struck me about Samurai dress – how is it the ironing stays so perfectly in place? While that’s not my greatest gift (ironing gets no attention in my world), it’s always been something I admire in others’ presentation, so maybe I should start concentrating… Thank you for making me think laterally again… happy Beltane Marian
Marian, a shining morning to you – thank you for being here again. Like you, I am drawn to my warrior aspect when there is need for aligning energy and intention – an integration that can shift a situation or circumstance with compassionate courage into another phase.
The light that afternoon was so wonderful, everything felt touched by a special benediction.
Good question about samurai dress – since the horse archers do no ironing at all between rounds, perhaps you might consider incorporating some samurai elements in your daily costume. Creaseless and wrinkle-free, no matter hard the ride!
Thank you for Beltane greetings – moving into a new season of our lives. Your presence here is such a welcome delight – blessed rhythms to you, Marian.
Hi Catrien,
Your Yabusame-inspired actions, lessons, and insights are a blueprint for engaging in a spiritual, purpose driven life.
I especially resonated with their ‘breathing practice harmonized mind and body under the most intense pressure, allowing the horse archer to overcome doubt and fear.’
Time honored traditions carry such simplicity, truth, and wisdom. There is much to respect and model.
I’m in gratitude for your inspiration.
Blessings,
Kim
Kim, thank you for visiting again with your encouraging comment reminding us to connect with simplicity, truth, and wisdom.
May your own blueprints help you express your own harmony of inspired action, today!
I’m a fan of skill in action. Whenever I think of elegance, I think of either beautiful engineering, smart-crafted words of wisdom, or physical prowess. I’ve always had a fascination for the idea of being a skilled archer on horseback … I think there’s an elegance and flow to it.
J.D., wonderful to see you here again, thank you. Beautiful engineering, smart-crafted words of wisdom, physical prowess – your comment links expansively to elegance.
Archery on horseback is indeed skill in action, with an intensity of flow that astonishes.
Have you ever been to Japan? If you ever plan a trip, you might want to time it with yabusame – and if you do, please be sure to visit me in person.
Enjoy your own considerable skills in action this week!
“Recognize that authentic action yields its own reward” speaks volumes to me Catrien. To me that means connecting with other people on so many more levels even than we are aware. When we’re being authentic, we’re not filtering the truth and that has to benefit both parties and anyone else who is involved in the process. It’s kind of like the bull’s eye resonating out from the centre, as opposed to us focusing ON the centre… because we ARE the centre.
Davina, how lovely to see you here again. Thank you for your perceptive and beautifully expressed comment. Your insight about authentic action is a welcome addition to the discussion, and I especially appreciate, “It’s kind of like a bull’s eye resonating out from the centre, as opposed to us focusing ON the centre … because we ARE the centre.”
Centering and birdsong to you this early morning!
Oh this is just an excellent and inspiring post today, and I just needed to read it several times as I re-adjust my goals and work at coming with balance to my own skills and accomplishments. Thank you – it is elegant and well stated.
I tried to get a new outfit today to celebrate my new spirit…nothing fits right now…will need to work up to the full dress code of change being made.
Patricia, thank you for winging your way here again, and for the warmth of your words.
Celebrating a new spirit with a new outfit can be so positive, and it doesn’t need to be clothing. A haircut can bring in the new, too.
Just so long as you never clip those shining ladybird wings!
The rider and the horse become as One and they together become One with their environment. There is no missing when a reunion occurs in this Moment.
It reminds me of a thought I had once of shooting a free throw in basketball. If in a state of harmony, it is impossible to not make the basket. It is actually a neurosis to miss such a shot, because it is a disconnection with one’s environment and greater personal nature.
The samurai reminds us to become whole again and to dance in marriage with that which surrounds us. We are what we wish to be and more. We search out a discipline in life to surrender the discipline or the disciple within, to find our true Self once again.
Bern, thank you so much for stopping by again along the trail. Your exquisitely expressed comment enriches the discussion at such a profound level. Yes, as you say, when all is One there is no missing. And you share such insightful wisdom with us: “We search out a discipline in life to surrender the discipline or the disciple within, to find our true Self once again.”
I notice that somewhere along your trail you metamorphosed into The Appalachian Sea Otter in Virginia – a true original in nature, wondrous to behold and even more enthralling to encounter.
Please continue gracing this mountain habitat with your magnificent presence, Bern. Many more miles of joyful journeying to you!
One can say that one becomes a brand new species with each new energy that we draw into our lives and embrace fully.
Each energy is like a new food to try, and it transforms us into a new frequency band that is original and new the moment we merge with our newest outlook or perspective. We evolve truly when we allow our selves to change with all of our encounters.
Catrien:
This was a very good post and thank you for sharing your experience. I genuinely feel that when we look around at everything that is going on, there are lessons and essential truths that we can learn…as long as we are listening. People observe events and things and perceive them in their own way. However, it is a gift to be able to see the universal truths and lessons that are always there beneath the surface. You by all means have this special vision and gift. Thank you for always sharing it.
Sibyl, thank you, it is always wonderful to see you here. You perceptively honed in on a key point – “as long as we are listening.” Without that listening we miss such so much of our own life experiences. Why not live more deeply, more fully, tapping into the essential truths that underlie our daily lives?
Thank you for bringing your wisdom here again, Sibyl. Have a wonderful week and enriching early mornings!
National Geographic Channel have once featured this art and I was so curious I have watched it. At first, the craft may look simple but as I go on I have learned that it takes years to master the art of yabusame. It involves tremendous amount of self discipline, patience and perseverance.
Walter, thank you for dropping by again. Yes, years of mastery are involved, as is so often so when we want to become really skilled and proficient. Did you enjoy the coverage of yabusame by the National Geographic Channel? You can imagine how it must come across when you are right here in person! Thank you for sharing your comment, it is lovely to see you here today.
Oh, I loved this, Catrien, especially since I’ve been imagining my inner warrior in all her many guises of late. And now I’m thinking maybe she’s got a trusty steed too, and they’re helping me along the path to become really good at what I want to do. That’s the thing I come back to again and again in my own life. Learning every day, from life and work. Realizing that the older I get, the less I truly know. And that there will always be some deeper level of “getting good” at this thing I do. Thanks, Catrien.
Patty, a good morning smile to you – thank you for dropping by again. There are so many layers and levels of learning and experiencing, aren’t there? As you express, we have the opportunity to go deeper and deeper, “learning every day from life and work.”
What guise will your inner warrior don today, I wonder? May you be carried forward on your trusty steed to perfect those deeds that only you can!
Catrien!
This is too beautiful for words – oh but it was words that brought the beauty to life for me! Masterfully cobbled. Of course the photos are outstanding and I love the authentic garb.
Yabusame has now been added to my list of “experiences” to experience, not the riding on horse and letting go of an arrow at full gallop to hit a target, but to attend the festival. Is it always April 29? It’s been a while since I’ve been to Japan in the spring, and this just might be a good reason to plan such a trip and do more of the island to add to my vault of experiences.
Valentina, hello again – thank you so much for expressing such appreciation. I very much enjoy your choice of the word “cobbled” – very evocative!
April 29 is the date of this annual event at Lake Kawaguchi, but there are other yabusame events throughout the year. The April 29 setting directly between the lake and Mount Fuji is especially glorious, and the shrine where the ceremony begins is one of the oldest – it really is worth experiencing.
So do think about timing your return to Japan to enjoy this – and of course, it will give you and me a wonderful chance to meet in person, on the shore of Lake Kawaguchi, at the foot of Mount Fuji. I welcome your visit, Valentina, so please do come!
Catrien — First of all, I loved reading about this event. As a kid I did a lot riding, most of bareback riding. It is true that you learn to feel the horse underneath you and make your body move as one.
Now, I not saying I could do what these archers do…they are so impressive.
I also enjoyed your follow-up words of wisdom. As always, you see the truths behind the actions. I think I am still too cautious to successfully hit my targets at full gallop, but I am getting better at trusting my intuition horse to help me:~)
Sara, welcome again this morning – I loved your sharing about your bareback riding in childhood. My grandmother used to ride bareback down from the deep mountains when she was a child – riding alone through the jungle. So thank you so much for stirring this precious memory in me today.
Yes, to be a horseback archer requires two separate skill sets – expert refinement in both horseback riding and archery.
How lovely to invoke your intuition horse, Sara, this is wonderful imagery. May we both honor our intuition horses today, trusting their rhythm and riding forth into more courageous expression of who and what we are!
this is very interesting Catrien
i look at the pictures and feel like i want to be there with those people !!! thanks for letting us get in deep contact with that beautiful culture
Farouk, good evening – thank you for dropping by again with your joyful comment.
Since you are already familiar with the Japanese martial art of aikido, perhaps it’s time for you to consider visiting Japan to enjoy yabusame – at least to watch. I look forward to seeing you here in person one of these days.
Meantime, have a wonderful week doing what you do!
Dearest Catrien,
What a beautiful custom and art form. It seems it includes all the aspects that make for a powerful and meaningful life.
You touch on them wonderfully and the photos! I especially love the first one!
A couple statements that I loved are:
“True aim arises from the certainty of centered stillness”.
I really feel we all sense when we are off center. I know I do and I take it as a cue to stop and breathe, to intend to come back to the center where balance and authentic beingness reside.
“When your arrow misses the mark, sense the gods are smiling anyway”.
I do so love to picture the gods smiling and dancing! Life from this perspective becomes a celebration, not a competition.
Last but not least “I had a great ride”. Would that we all could say that not only at the end of the ride, but through the moments of our lives.
I am having a great ride. I get to choose how I respond to life’s circumstances. I get to co-create my life with a mysterious and magical energy that plays and dances on my behalf.
How could it be better than this?
Thank you for sharing this great art and for being you, an uplifting lover of life!
Lauren
Lauren, hello again – thank you so much for your wonderful comment. You shared such joyful insights, especially, “I take it as a cue to stop and breathe, to intend to come back to the center where balance and authentic beingness reside.”
And your response to life is an inspirational reminder to all of us: “I am having a great ride. I get to choose how I respond to life’s circumstances. I get to co-create my life with a mysterious and magical energy that plays and dances on my behalf.”
This is so positively uplifting, and yes, it cannot get much better than this. What a powerhouse of light and compassionate wisdom you are, Lauren – thank you.
I know that mysterious and magical energy plays and dances each and every day in you and around you. Thank you for connecting us within this amazing dance!
Catrien -
I love this. What a magnificent event and chronicled so beautifully by you. The discipline and skill needed for this defies belief. It is a tribute to determination, focus and practice. The event outlines the underestimated skill of sticking at something and how that can help us transcend the every day. I love your lessons – I’m going to print them out and keep them around – we are not competing with everyone else – and most importantly live fully, live well. Magnificent – your best post yet. Thank you.
Phil
Phil, thank you for dropping by again, and for your enthusiastic appreciation. Especially welcome is your insight,”The event outlines the underestimated skill of sticking at something and how that can help us transcend the every day.”
In the instant gratification culture that pervades modern life, sticking at something so that it becomes transcendent mastery is too often overlooked.
I am so glad you liked this post so much, Phil – your own posts inspire people to live fully and well. Hope you have a full, joyful weekend!
Thank-you for sharing this which is full of great lessons. We do need to be prepared to hit our target at full gallop as well as being still. We also need to know that it is okay when we don’t hit the target as intended and know that even the misses have purpose and are a “hit” in a universal sense.
Mark, lovely to see you here again with the insightful wisdom condensed into your words:
“We also need to know that it is okay when we don’t hit the target as intended and know that even the misses have purpose and are a “hit” in a universal sense.”
This is an amazing reminder of the truly big picture – thank you so much for adding this perspective to the discussion.
Early morning greetings from the mountains in Japan to you.
Hello Catrien
What a fascinating festival and so good to expand and learn more about the Japanese culture through you! Thank you!
What I am gathering from this festival and the lessons that I take away, are something that I am always being reminded of in my own life, and that is – focus.
To get anything done, to manifest, to accomplish a goal, we need some serious focus. That same focus I think generates the precision with which this sport is played out today, as it has been for centuries.
Thank you for sharing all the insights and lessons – what a tremendous and beneficial wealth of information!
Evita, what joy to hear from you again this morning. Yes, you perceptively honed in on an essential point – focus. Thank you so much for sharing your deep understanding in your response, “To get anything done, to manifest, to accomplish a goal, we need some serious focus.”
And this often requires discipline, and practice, and time, too, before focus becomes one with finesse.
Thank you for your delighted enjoyment of this post, Evita – you do so much to share your own compassionate wisdom as well as the insights of others in your own focused and powerful efforts. The magnificent generosity of your being is lighting each of us in our own evolution.
Have another day as beautiful and inspiring as your focus makes it!
I’m convinced it’s the courage that is hardest to Munster when we know something is not right and sense it might be change which we ponder. Then amassing the courage to make the move, accepting the possible change becomes the target.
Great blog and thoughts glad I visited.
Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com
Dorothy, thank you so much for visiting – welcome to my blog. Your insight is so wise – yes, “amassing the courage to make the move, accepting the possible change becomes the target.” And in our acceptance we can prepare to focus and act, bravely facing the necessary change.
Morning greetings to you from the mountains in Japan, Dorothy – please drop by again!
Hi Catrien!
I need to subscribe to your blog/newsletters so I can get higher up in the comments! Although the caboose gets to read the other comments. do you have blog sub. via email?
Fab article. Inspirational galore. “Discover your inner power.” That’s the key to set us free …
This speaks to me for two reasons: I rode horses as a young girl for 13 years and am getting an archery set this summer. I took archery at camp and verbalized a few months ago to Jimmy that I had this urge to take it up again. Still not sure why — when it reveals itself, I will turn it into an essay.
Thanks for posts that draw me in …
Giulietta
Giulietta, thank you for following your attraction back here again. Yes, you can subscribe by email – I will send you the link, thank you very much.
Well, with your horse riding skills and now your return to archery, you may be all set for your own horseback archery show – what a wonderful, inspiring image of Giulietta the Muse this gives me. I look forward to reading your revelations on your own life-affirming blog.
Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm – have a rollicking weekend!
hi catrien,
how are you?
did you miss me lol!!! i have been so busy this week and i trying to catch up on my fav blogs right now. it is interesting to see how you draw a parallel between our personal development and Yabusame.A slight digression; the pictures are colourful and all I am thinking of right now is how much rehearsals, strength training, endurance, practice is put into the programme. one thing I can confidently say is I am no archer and a bow and arrow in my hands spells disaster.
enjoy your weekend.
p.s. i am still waiting for the guest post/article for the magazine
Ayo, yes, I missed you – your beaming presence here is such a welcome joy – thank you for dropping by again after your busy week.
You may feel you are not handy with a bow and arrow, but you certainly demonstrate your finesse in what you do so well. Congratulations on your own outstanding effort, especially on publishing the fourth edition of The Life Skills Magazine.
You enjoy your weekend, too, under the drifting ash cloud.
P.S. Yes, I know, my guest post/article will be there at some point not too far off.
I would add to the list of lessons learned: go through life wearing colorful 13th-century finery. I think that would certainly spice up normally mundane chores like going to the supermarket or sitting through that meeting!
Beautiful pictures, by the way.
Chris, thank you so much for visiting – welcome to my blog. Your suggestion is excellent – wearing 13th century finery would go a long way towards adding spice and color to every day activities.
And as Marian pointed out in her comment, such clothing doesn’t seem to wrinkle, so this extra spice in our lives would be pretty carefree, too.
Maybe we can all set aside one day in the week as 13th century finery day!
This is fantastic Catrien; I LOVE that Yabusame is an art for the sake of spiritual, mental and physical growth and not about competing with someone else to be better than they are. For me, the parts that resonate most are the inspired action of “Displaying your flair by dressing for the part” and the inspired lesson of “Adverse conditions are simply that – your real test is how you respond.” With mothering small children and building a home business both on my plate at the same time, I do find sometimes that I get frustrated and overwhelmed with the inherent challenges of the situation; too many tasks, too little time, etc. But this is a great reminder that stuff is just, well… stuff, and that staying in the “zone” even through the challenges will help me get through the rough patches more quickly and leave me feeling better about my choice to practice “focus, discipline and finesse” as a way to overcome doubt and fear.
Thank you so much for yet another thought-provoking and inspiring post Catrien!
Dear Tisha:
Thank you so much for staying in touch. Please visit again in 2012. Meantime, Happy New Year to you! Catrien.
Hi Catrien.
I had not previously seen horse-back riding of this type.
“Become really good at what you want to do” makes sense. Whatever it is that we desire to do, that is where we should improve our skill. If it is really our desire, we will have the motivation to do this.
“Leave the crowds gasping with astonishment at your bravado.” This is something I am certainly glad to do. I like the way it is worded in that tip. Boldness can represent intelligence in understanding what many fear that is actually not much of a risk. Boldness without this intelligence might be called carelessness.
There are no samurai horsemen going down my street, but they certainly are there in Japan.
Dear Armen:
Even the streets are gone now in parts of Japan. This is catch-up for me, after such a long silence. Please drop by whenever you have time. Happy New Year in 2012! Catrien.
Catrien-one of my first introductions to Zen was the book “Zen in the art of archery.” I read it when I was 16, and it totally fascinated me. I often find myself writing aphorisms, utilizing the imagery of archery, because the whole topic of aiming for a target (having a goal) is, I think, a particularly rich and enlightening one. Here’s my latest:
“The air lets the arrow pass right through.”
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Dear NothingProfound:
Yet everything profound. Such a long delay in my reply. Please drop by again in 2012. Happy New Year! Catrien.
Hey there Catrien,
I am Japanese American, born in the USA and it embarrasses me that I don’t know much about the Japanese culture! (ha ha) But what I do know about what I read and have learned about it, is that the ancient Japanese culture was so rich in history and perfect design. Whether the design was in being the warrior, or architecture, or spiritual connectivenes with the universe, I am always amazed at how extremely intelligent they were back then.
I am also embarrassed that most of our people aren’t as wise as back then!
Keep on enriching us with your wisdom…
Dear Bruce:
Almost two years, and I am retracing and catching up. Please drop by and enjoy a link with your culture in 2012. Happy New Year to you! Catrien.
Dearest Catrien, This is an amazing post that could be a whole book (a Zen Experience, that could be applied to every day living). It is soooooo loaded. I hardly know where to start, as you have covered and gleaned SO much wisdom from watching this event.
My Dad used to teach us how to use a bow and arrow and I loved the focus of it, the intent. We never road horses LOL! however, I remember one day while doing it, after several misses of the target, hearing a voice go through my head, which I never forgot it.
It said, “Forget all thought, Robin. You must BECOME the arrow. The arrow is an extension of your intent. Forget all thought and send the arrow where YOU want to go. You must BECOME the arrow and go to the target yourself.”
I never forgot that and have applied it to many other activities. If I can move beyond the mechanics of whatever action I am trying to do (physical or otherwise) and become the arrow, become the leap across the stream, the jump from one rock to another, become the ball thrown into the hoop and so on, become the book I want to write, become the love I want to experience, become the world at peace and so on. It is a wild, powerful, uplifiting experience when we can forget ourselves and literally BECOME the action/intent.
You, dear friend, are a magical expression of wisdom, one filled with SO much grace and elegance, both inside and out…all of you. I hope I get to meet you one day.
This was a very thrilling and uplifting read for me. Know that you are often in my thoughts. I always feel connected. Much love, Robin
Dear Robin:
So much distance. Such a long silence. All I can say right now is thank you. Love. And hope to see you here in 2012. Happy New Year to you! Catrien.
Catrien,
Thank you. Your gift for words and your wisdom comes through so clearly in these short expressions of truth. Guidelines for a life well lived.
I particularly love your reminder that authentic action brings its own reward.
So true. I know in my own life I can get carried along by a to-do list full of should and obligations that don’t reflect what I authentically want to create. Of course, that makes neither the process or the end result satisfying. And there is that other mode of action – motivated by a source within, in integrity, carried by one’s own energy, finding its way in the world…there’s so much grace and joy in action taken from that place.
Warmly, Tara
Dear Tara:
A reply out of a distant past. New Year Greetings to you. Hope to see you in 2012. Catrien.
Catrien -
What ever happened to your blogging? I know I’m not alone in loving your writing. Any chance of a comeback?
Phil
Dear Phil:
Well, many, many months. And enormous change in Japan. Thank you for your lovely comment. Please drop by again in 2012. Catrien.